Turning a Blind Eye
by starrynight2010
Summary: Many say that love is blind, but Serena is convinced that love cannot be the only thing that is blind; especially since she's out of a relationship that has her busy with other things then trying to woo the most eligible bachelor, Dr. Endymion Chiba.
1. Chapter 1

**Turning a Blind Eye**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

_Chapter One: Blind Date_

"I can't believe you've talked me into this." Serena said as she smoothed her blue dress.

"You need to get out of the house more often." Mina countered as she grabbed one of Serena's black jackets.

"That doesn't warrant setting me up on a blind date!" Serena reminded.

"As absurd as it sounds, I have to agree with Mina. It'll be good for you to get out of the house for a change." Amy said as she checked Serena's purse for everything she would need. "Sere, where's your pepper spray?"

"I don't think I'll need that Amy." Serena smiled as she took the purse from her friend, "We're meeting at the restaurant."

"I guess." Amy mumbled as she looked down, trying to figure out an argument against Serena's logic.

"Ames, you know Darien. He wouldn't hurt Sere." Lita commented from the doorway to the room, throwing a kitchen towel onto her shoulder as she spoke, "Or better yet, I know Darien and he knows Sere and I are friends. He also happens to know that I protect my friends." Lita added with a smile.

"You didn't threaten him yet did you?"Mina asked as she held the jacket out for Serena.

"No, but he was there when I threatened Max about hurting you and Darien also happened to come across Joey after he cheated on Amy. Well, I guess he would since he works at the hospital." Lita smirked.

"I'm still not sure how you all know this guy, know he's great; yet I've never seen him before." Serena mumbled as she put on her jacket.

"Yeah, well, as I've said before, it'll be good for you to get out." Amy repeated, "Since the break up you haven't been around lately and that's when we all happened to meet Darien." Amy then said, pushing Serena toward the door.

"I guess. But, just for the record, since my break up with Danny, I've had a lot of other stuff to deal with. I'll be back early and try not to burn the place down." Serena said as she walked out the front door.

"Have fun!" Mina yelled through the closed door, making Serena smile as she found her car keys and unlocked her car.

_Dinner, split the check, it was nice to meet you_ Serena reminded herself of how the night was going to go. _He's not Danny and deserves at least a pleasant meal_.

Serena continued to remind herself on how the night was going to go as she drove to the restaurant that they had agreed to meet at, only stopping her mantra a few times to hum or flat out sing to a song on the radio.

Serena parked her car under one of the many street lamps in the parking lot and got out of her car, locking it once she shut her door. Taking one last deep breath, Serena headed for the front doors of the restaurant.

"Hi, welcome to Sakura." A hostess said from behind the podium as Serena walked in to the crowded waiting area.

"Hi; reservation for Shields?" Serena asked as she approached the woman.

"Yes, right this way." The woman said as she made a mark in the book on the podium, picked up two menus and turned to lead Serena through the restaurant.

"Your waitress will be Ann, she'll be with you in a few minutes. Enjoy." The hostess said as she sat Serena at a table near the back of the restaurant.

"Thank you." Serena smiled at her as she left to return to the front room.

The restaurant was quiet except for the soft Japanese music the floated through the air, helping to keep conversations muted and private. The lights were dimmed low to make each table feel secluded though they were all in the same large room and the décor was classical Japanese restaurant.

"Hi, I'm Ann, can I get you something to drink while you wait?" Ann asked.

"Water's fine for now." Serena answered.

"Ok, I'll be right back with that." Ann smiled quickly before she hurried off to another table.

Serena continued to look around the restaurant, admiring some of the Japanese paintings the hung on the walls when she noticed that the restaurant became suddenly quiet. Glancing to the door, she saw why. One of the most eligible and wealthy bachelors of the area; Dr. Endymion Chiba, Chief of Medicine at Amador Memorial had just walked into the place.

Serena may have been living under a rock since her break up with Danny, but even she knew about this man. Not only was he rich, but he was attractive. At only 28, he was Chief of Medicine. His black hair was trimmed neatly in a boyish bowl cut sort of way, short on the bottom and slightly longer on the top, though no one would mistake this for mom's quick cut on the house driveway. He wore a black button down shirt that was open at the throat showing off his tanned skin. It was a little obvious that he had come straight from the hospital to the restaurant because of his lack of coat and the fact that his black slacks had slight smudges where he must have whipped his hands after taking off latex gloves and the cornstarch had rubbed off his palms. It was too dark in the restaurant for Serena to see his eyes, but at the moment, she didn't care as sudden fear gripped her.

_No, the guy I'm meeting is named Darien Shields. It's just a random happenstance that the Chief of Medicine and another doctor are going to be at the same place tonight. This is a popular place to eat_. Serena told herself as Dr. Chiba walked to the same hostess Serena had. This time the woman smiled a lot more then she had before.

Serena was able to take a deep breath as the hostess took Dr. Chiba through the restaurant a different path then she had taken. Serena could see a couple of other woman in the restaurant who were still sitting alone sit up a little more and smile as they began to make their way through the tables.

_I guess blind dates aren't a dead ridiculous practice_. Serena smiled to herself as she watched one of the women deflate as Dr. Chiba passed them by.

Not wanting to gawk at the poor man who was probably used to it, Serena reached toward her feet and grabbed her purse to check her cell phone for the time and if she had any missed calls; though she knew the latter wasn't likely. Darien didn't have her cell number and the girls wouldn't think of ever calling her tonight; especially since they set up this date. Her phone flashed the time as she pushed one of the side buttons, 7:05. He was only 5 minutes late.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." A voice said from above her head as she tucked her phone back into her purse.

_Oh no_. Serena thought as she straightened. Only one man had walked in and could have been escorted to this table in the time it took her to check her phone.

"Serena?" the voice asked again as Serena turned her head to meet the dark blue eyes of Dr. Endymion Chiba. The wealthy, single Chief of Medicine of Amador Memorial.

"Are you Serena Tsukino? Friends with Mina Aino, Lita Kino, and Amy Anderson?" he asked again when she gave him no response.

"Uh, yes, I am. But, wait. Darien Shields?" Serena asked, then realizing she didn't really ask a question.

"Yeah, I prefer being called Darien rather than Endymion and when making reservations I use Shields. Just so that any single woman wouldn't see my name and flock to the place. It's happen more than once and I have learned my lesson." Darien smiled as he sat down across from her.

"I can only imagine how that must have went." Serena mumbled as she opened her menu to hide her shocked face.

"It was bad. Especially since the meal was with the board members of the hospital." Darien commented as he opened his own menu.

Serena didn't answer or respond as she continued to look at the menu. _Dinner, pleasant meal, just friends, split the check_ Serena thought then giggled. She couldn't help it.

Darien tilted his menu down and sent Serena a frown.

"Sorry. I was just thinking, give the guy a pleasant meal, leave just friends and split the check. I guess I don't have to worry about splitting the check." Serena blurted out before she could stop herself.

"I knew having a good paying job would work in my favor at some point." Darien smiled at her, "We haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Endymion Chiba, as if you didn't know. Please call me Darien." Darien then said as he reached over the table and offered her his hand.

"Well, since you're giving your full name, Serenity Tsukino. Everyone calls me Serena, nice to meet you." Serena said as she grasped his hand.

"So, have you been here before?" Darien asked, trying to create conversation.

"A long time ago." Serena answered, trying to give him a sweet smile but failed.

"Not a good memory?" Darien asked, noticing her façade.

"The actual meal was fine; the person who I had it with on the other hand was not." Serena answered simply.

"I see. For me, this visit is already better then the last one." Darien changed the subject smoothly.

"How so?" Serena asked, intrigued by his latest comment.

"Well, the last time I was here, they had to shut the place down. In fact, there used to be a night club across the street which is no longer there, but none the less it was the last time I came. If you haven't noticed this is one of the nicer places to eat. Though they don't have a dress code, per say, you're expected to dress appropriately. The club, however, did not have such a dress code and when word spread that I was dining here with a woman who was not a candidate for marriage, woman came from all over." Darien said with a grimace, "I'm surprised they let me sit down."

"Well, I think it might be clear that you're with someone. That should deter some proposal seeking women." Serena smiled as she pictured the restaurant that they sat in filled with club attired women.

"I hope they do." Darien muttered, "So what are you thinking about having?"

"I'm not sure yet. The girls, I mean Amy, Lita, Mina and I just had sushi the other day for lunch." Serena pondered as she looked at the menu again.

"That's why Amy rushed me out of her office the other day. We were reviewing a chart when she looked at her watched and practically threw me out of her office and said she'd talk to me later. Probably cause right before that she had convinced me that I spent too much time at the hospital and needed to get out more." Darien smiled as he remembered the day, "Don't tell her I said this, but it was fun watching her struggle to throw me out."

"If you think it's funny for Amy to throw you out, imagine how hard it is for me to throw Lita out! You know, they said almost the same thing to me. Switch hospital with house and it's exactly the same. I wonder how long they've been planning this…" Serena began to think about all the times the girls had hinted to her to get out more.

"I would say it started about 6 months ago. That's when Amy started to have lunches with Lita and Mina." Darien commented, "I only know that because that was when she began to actually leave hospital grounds for lunch." He then added on.

"Those little mischievous….. things!" Serena said, keeping her voice down as to not attract attention but smiling through her anger.

"My feelings are mutual. Though I have to say, this has already been one of best dates I've been on in a long time." Darien admitted.

"We barely started talking, how can that be so?" Serena asked, amazed that he would admit that to her.

"You're not being overly pushy about dating me or trying every trick in the book to get me to like you. You don't brag about who your friends are or how we'll be a good match for the next magazine cover. You're not dragging your chair closer to mine to get close to me and, thank whatever you want to, you haven't suggested we skip dinner and go to bed together. In fact you stated earlier that you're not expecting anything other than friendship out of this." Darien said as Ann walked up.

"Darien, it's good to see you. I see we're not experiencing any difficulties tonight." Ann said as she put Serena's water down.

"No and thank goodness for that." Darien smiled at her.

"What can I get you to drink?" Ann then asked Darien.

"Water and green tea, please. Serena, would you like something else?" Darien then asked.

"Green tea sounds good." Serena smiled at Darien's thoughtfulness to ask her.

"Ok, I'll bring your water right out and I'll start a kettle of tea for you two. Do you need another minute before you order?" Ann asked as she scribbled on her pad.

"Yes please. And tell Alan that I'm not expecting any problems tonight." Darien told her quickly.

"Dare, you never do. I'll get your water." Ann smiled at him as she turned and walked to the kitchen, she stopped before she went through the curtain that separated the kitchen from the dining area to talk to a man with brown hair that looked to be about Darien's height. He smiled then looked toward the table and shook his head, a smile on his face as he followed Ann into the kitchen.

"Friends of yours?" Serena asked as she turned back to Darien.

"Yeah. Alan and I were in the same undergraduate program." Darien smiled, "Ever since that incident we now call 'Club Night' he has always joked that he could buy Ann a new car by just saying that I would be here in the newspaper."

"He's right you know." Serena pointed out with a smile at the fondness she heard in Darien's voice.

"Yeah, but I would never admit that to him." Darien said as Alan set a glass of water before, two empty tea cups and a kettle down on the table.

"Darien, long time." Alan said gravely but was unable to keep his smile hidden.

"Right, Alan. I was here for lunch three days ago. Alan, meet Serena Tsukino. Serena, this is Alan Granger." Darien introduced them quickly.

"Serena it's nice to meet you and whatever this guys says about me isn't true. Unless he's admitting that he cheated off my tests, that's true." Alan smiled as Darien shook his head at his friends antics.

"Don't worry, no stories have come up. Yet." Serena added the yet with a smile.

"That's my queue to leave. Enjoy your dinner. Oh, and Darien, I wanted to tell you congratulations personally. I'll see you this weekend." Alan said as he walked to the front of the restaurant to check in with his staff.

"Congratulations?" Serena asked.

"I'm going to be an uncle." Darien smiled proudly, "My sister and brother-in-law just announced it."

"Congratulations then." Serena returned his smile, "I think we better figure out what we want to eat or we'll never leave here."

"You're right. Let's see what looks good tonight." Darien muttered as he opened his menu again.

Serena returned to looking at the menu, trying to decide what to eat, "I just can't decide. It all sounds good." Serena muttered.

"I know. The sad part is that both of us just ate Japanese recently, this really should be easier." Darien responded, "How about this, you want to get the Sakura special? It's meant to feed two and comes with an appetizer and dessert." Darien offered.

"That sounds fantastic." Serena smiled as she put down her menu, "Now, you said it's _meant_ to feed two, how many times have you eaten it by yourself?" Serena asked.

"More often than not." Darien admitted as Ann came by and took their order.

"And why is that?" Serena asked once they had decided on a sashimi plate as an appetizer and tempura ice cream for dessert and Ann was on her way back to the kitchen.

"I tend to skip or miss lunch during the day. I normally take over doing rounds for the different staff when they're sick or on vacation or taking lunch themselves and just forget to eat. Amy has yelled at me about skipping meals and recently been reminding me about eating. She's gone as far as bringing me food when I tell her I don't have time to leave the hospital for lunch." Darien answered easily.

"I do that too. I'll get caught up with something or someone and not eat. Mina is my Amy, she does for me what Amy does for you. Scolding included." Serena smiled, "They really did match us up pretty well. At least on the part where we're workaholics, like the same foods or at least Japanese food, and, well, to be honest, I like talking to you." Serena added on, hoping the dim lighting would hide the blush that now stained her cheeks and neck.

"I thought you were only looking for friendship." Darien commented, obviously noticing her blush.

"I am. I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now. I was just saying that you're easy to talk to and you understand me, that's all." Serena reasoned away what Darien was insinuating.

"Right." Darien scoffed with a smile as a server put down a plate of sashimi between them and gave them each a small dish for wasabi.

"So, it's rather obvious you know what my profession is, what's yours?" Darien asked as he mixed some wasabi with soy sauce.

"I'm a secretary at a law firm in town." Serena answered as she mixed her own wasabi and soy sauce.

"And how do you like it?" Darien asked, genuine interest in his voice.

"It pays the bills." Serena smiled.

"You don't like your job?" Darien then asked after her short answer.

"Well, it's not my dream job, but it fits my needs in life right now. It pays me enough to get by in life with some comforts, has reasonable hours, I get weekends off and is close to home. I don't have to commute for more than twenty minutes to get there or home; so over all, I do like my job." Serena answered honestly.

"I see. What is your dream job?" Darien asked as he grabbed a piece of sashimi.

After a pause, Serena answered "Well, for a while it was to be a teacher, then it turned into writing and now, I'm not sure. I'm happy where I'm at and that's good for me for now." Then took after Darien's lead and took a piece of sashimi as he took in her answer.

"But if you could have any job, what would it be?" Darien asked.

"Well, I know I would be sick of it after a month or so, but if I could do anything and not have to worry about bills and what not, I'd say be a stay at home mother. I would like to care for my house and kids. But at the same time I know I'd get sick of it. I like being productive, not that stay at home mother's aren't productive, I just know that I would never be able to do it. As weird as it sounds I like filing and answering phones and just working in general. Other than that for a while, I don't know. Maybe owning my own business would be nice. Lita and I always say we should open a restaurant together. She'd be the chef and I'd keep the place running." Serena smiled at the thought of it.

"I can see how you would want to be a teacher then. Having summer and winter break to do you stay at home mother dream then go back to work when it would feel like you need to do something different. I can see you doing well with children. As for writing, I'm not sure I can see you hunched over a keyboard or notepad by yourself writing, you seem more of a people person. As for running your own business, that would work well for you. And a restaurant with Lita as the chef, well I'd eat there every day!" Darien said with a laugh.

"You didn't mention your thoughts of me as a stay at home mother." Serena pointed out.

"Well, I can see you as a mother. As I said, I can picture you working well with children." Darien said with seriousness, "Wow, we polished that off quick." He then said, looking down at the now empty plate.

"Yeah we did. I guess we're both hungrier than we thought." Serena agreed with a smile.

As the meal continued, Serena and Darien continued to talk. They talked about a lot of things, about their education and how Serena graduated with a BA in English from a state school while Darien had his BS in Biology and Chemistry, his PhD and Medical License and is currently working on a MA in Physics. They talked about how they survived school, Darien mainly. Serena talked about her friends and how they were her rock during her break up, though she didn't go into details about her break up. By the time they had finished dessert they had traded enough information they almost felt as if they have been friends for the past month instead of the past few hours.

"I really had fun tonight" Serena commented as she reached for her purse after Ann placed the check on the table.

"I did too. And I hope you're only checking your phone." Darien commented as Serena put her purse on the table and began to pull out her wallet.

"Darien, I can't let you pay for the whole meal. You may make more than I do, but as I said before. I have a job that allows me to have some comforts in life and this is one of them." Serena said as she reached for the check to see how much her half was.

Darien snatched the check before she could grab it and looked at the total, "How about this, I'll pay and in return we have drinks later this week." Darien said, trying to compromise with her. Knowing she'll argue with him about paying the entire check.

"Will I buy my own drinks?" Serena asked.

"We'll decide that then." Darien answered.

"In my mind that means no. Darien, I can support myself. I don't need you to pay for this." Serena said, a little bit of bite in her voice.

"For some odd reason I have a feeling that your ex accused you of not being able to take care of yourself." Darien muttered as got his wallet out and pulled out his credit card.

"Something like that. Now please, tell me how much." Serena admitted.

"Fine, dinner Tuesday night." Darien answered as he handed the check and his credit card to Ann, "You said yourself that you didn't have to worry about splitting the check." Darien smiled at her.

"Tuesday? I'm not sure. Can I get back to you tomorrow about it?" Serena asked with a sigh, giving up on paying for half the meal.

"Of course." Darien answered as Ann gave him back his card and the receipt to sign.

Once Darien had signed the receipt and put his card back into his wallet, both Serena and Darien rose from their seats and prepared to leave the restaurant. Darien helped Serena into her jacket and pushed in her chair. As they walked toward the front of the restaurant, Darien noticed all the paparazzi mulling around outside.

Stopping before they hit the main waiting area where windows were everywhere, Darien held out his had to Serena.

"I really enjoyed dinner. Amy has my cell number or you can stop by the hospital to let me know your answer for Tuesday. I would walk you to your car, but I think it's best if I go out first and draw away the vulchers." Darien smiled as they shook hands, "Do you want me to see if Alan can walk you to your car? How far did you park?" Darien asked.

Serena smiled at him, "I didn't park that far, I'll be fine on my own. Thank you for your thoughtfulness though. I'll get in touch with you about Tuesday. Good night, Darien." Serena said as she let go of his hand.

"Good night, you should be able to go in peace in a few minutes." Darien said as he turned to go, a smile still on his face.

"Dr. Chiba, did you just have dinner with a possible marriage candidate?", "Are you dating?", "Is it someone from the hospital? Patient or co-worker?" Serena heard the reports ask as they flocked around him as he walked to his car.

Serena had to admit that he handled the press well. He didn't push them away from him, but didn't answer any of their questions. The smile on his face was polite but not friendly, it most definitely wasn't the smile that he had shared with her. Darien got into his car; a red, sports car, Serena pointed out to herself and drove away; leaving the reporters alone in the parking lot. It was then that Serena noticed that none of the staff of the restaurant took notice to spectacle outside and though some of the guests did look over, they didn't run from their tables to watch what was happening in the parking lot. In fact, she was the only person who did watch what had happened.

"Everyone's used to it. Darien comes here a lot and a good portion of the guests are regulars. The ones who aren't don't want to make a spectacle of themselves by rushing to the window." Alan said from behind her, reading her thoughts as she glanced around the dining room.

"I guess you guys should be used it." Serena responded as she dug through her purse for her keys.

"Let me walk you out. I just got off the phone with Darien and he asked to me to escort you out, just in case some of the reporters are still out there and harassing anyone who leaves here for details of Darien's meal here. Also, he wanted me to tell you that he would like you to call him once you get home. Just so he's sure you made it there safely." Alan then said.

"Ok, but I don't…" Serena began to say as Alan handed her a card with a number on it.

"I didn't put his name on it, but it's his cell number." Alan answered as he opened the door for her.

"Thanks." Serena said with a smile as she tucked the card into her purse and walked to her car with Alan beside her.

Alan only found one reporter hanging out trying to get information from anyone who Alan promptly had leave the property. As they continued to walk Alan explained to Serena that many of the reporters knew better then to try and hang out outside his restaurant and harass his clientele

"Have a good night." Alan said with a smile as Serena got into his car, though he didn't turn to leave until she had shut the door, started her car and locked her doors. The last at his insistent look at her and signaling her to do so through her window.

Serena smiled and waved at Alan as he turned to go back to the restaurant and she put her car into drive and began to drive out of the parking lot. On the drive home Serena again sang a few songs that caught her attention on the radio and in no time was parking in her driveway. Serena got out of her car and locked it while she walked up to her front door. As she unlocked the front door, she heard a shuffle on the other side and footsteps running around, wondering what was going on she pushed open the door.

"Lita, what's…" Serena began to ask when something ran into her legs.

"Mommy I had bad dream!" A pink haired toddler wailed as Serena bent to pick her up.

"It's ok baby, mommy's got you." Serena said soothingly as she picked up the toddler and closed and locked the door then turned out the porch light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Turning a Blind Eye**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything

_Chapter Two: Blind Faith_

Serena held her daughter as she walked to the living room and sat down on the sofa. Gently moving her daughter so that she was sitting on her lap, Serena brushed some of hair from her face and looked into her blue eyes.

"You want to tell me about your dream?" Serena asked.

"I was asleep and a monster came at me and you weren't there and the monster grabbed me then I woke up and aunt Lita came in and brought me out here cause I was crying and aunt Lita told me it was ok then you cam home." She explained without pause.

"Did auntie Lita take care of the monster for Rini?" Serena asked.

"Yeah." Rini smiled then yawned, "Mommy where'd you go?"

"Mommy went to dinner with a friend. But I'm home now. Do you want to go back to bed?" Serena asked, though she already knew the answer.

"No! I want to stay with you!" Rini practically yelled as she held on to Serena's arm tighter.

"Ok, you stay with me then. I'm going to get some water, do you want to come with me or stay on the sofa with auntie Lita?" Serena asked.

"I'll stay with aunt Lita. You no leaving?" Rini asked, suddenly scared.

"No, just getting something to drink. You want some milk or something?" Serena asked.

"Ok." Rini smiled, her fear gone as quick as it appeared.

"Ok, Lita you want anything?" Serena asked with a smile and shake of her head as her daughters antics.

"Naw, I'm fine." Lita said with a point to a mug on the coffee table.

"Ok, be right back. Then you can ask me all the questions that I know you're waiting to ask." Serena said with a sigh and smile as she went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water and got Rini some milk in her Sippy cup.

Serena went back into the living room, handed Rini her Sippy cup, settled her on to her lap and promptly turned on "Aladdin" for Rini to watch as she fell asleep.

"So, how did it go?" Lita asked once Rini was fully entranced by the movie.

"It went well. He's nice and smart. Attractive. Attentive. And, well, just an all around good guy." Serena answered quickly.

"Well, it's good to hear that we know some good guys. But that didn't answer my question." Lita pointed out.

"He wants to have dinner Tuesday night." Serena then said sipping her water as Lita took in the bomb that Serena dropped.

"Really!? Are you? Did you say yes?" Lita asked.

"I told him that I wasn't sure I was free and that I'd call him. Shoot, how long have I been home?" Serena asked suddenly.

"About 20 minutes, why?" Lita answered as she glanced at the clock.

"Darien wanted me to call him when I got home." Serena said as she slid Rini from her lap to the sofa to find her purse. Rini was too entranced by the jewels of the "Cave of Wonders" to notice she'd been moved.

Serena jogged to her purse that she left by the door and pulled out her phone, then found the card that Alan had given her. Quickly punching in the numbers she hit send and waited for Darien to pick up.

"Hello?" Darien's voice sounded over the phone.

"Hi, Darien, It's Serena." Serena responded quickly.

"Where do you live? I left you at the restaurant almost 45 minutes ago." Darien commented as he let out a breath.

"Sorry, I got home about 20 minutes ago. I just got," Serena looked to the sofa where she could see Rini's hair over the top cushion, "Side tracked. I got home fine and Alan walked me to my car." Serena explained.

"Ok. Good. I'm glad you got home alright. Do you know about Tuesday yet? I mean. I don't want to rush you or anything. If you don't know it's fine." Darien began to rush the last bit.

"Is the good doctor nervous?" Serena asked with a laugh, drawing Lita's attention from Rini and the movie.

"Honestly, yes. I'm afraid I just blew it because now I feel like I'm rushing you into seeing me again." Darien answered with a laugh.

"Tuesday…… Let me see" Serena said as she look to Lita and mouthed _'Yes or No?'_ Lita nodded her head enthusiastically, "Looks like I'm free." Serena then answered Darien.

"Really? Cool. I, uh, do you want me to pick you up? I mean I don't know where we'd go yet or what not yet." Darien answered.

"That would be great. Say 7:00?" Serena asked, not wanting to make him make all the decisions.

"Perfect. Do you want to give me your address now?" Darien asked as she heard him rustling around over the line.

"Um, actually I'm meeting Amy for lunch on Monday; I can leave it for you then if I don't see you." Serena offered.

"That would be perfect. I'll hear or see you then. Good night, Serena." Darien said, Serena could tell he was smiling as he spoke.

"See you then. Good night." Serena responded, a smile curving her lips as she hung up.

"So, Tuesday? Whatever happened to waiting a few days?" Lita asked with a smile when Serena looked back to the sofa.

"I don't know, but I'm glad he didn't wait….. Where's Rini?" Serena asked when she couldn't see the top of her head over the cushion.

"Right here, asleep." Lita said as she pointed down next to her.

Serena walked around the sofa to see Rini curled in a little ball out like a light.

"Knew she'd fall asleep." Serena whispered with a smile as she turned off the TV and picked up Rini.

Serena quietly walked through the house to Rini's room and put her down in her crib.

"I'm going to have to change that to a bed soon." Lita said softly from the door as Serena covered Rini with a blanket.

"Yeah. She's getting big." Serena whispered back as she smoothed her daughters' hair.

"You didn't tell Darien about her, did you?" Lita asked as Serena turned to leave the room.

"No, but I think I will Tuesday. I mean, he's picking me up here." Serena said as she grabbed the door knob and shut the door to Rini's room most of the way, letting a sliver of light into the room.

"Tuesday's Danny's day with Rini. Darien probably won't see her." Lita pointed out.

"What? Are you saying he doesn't like children? Or are you implying that I not tell him?" Serena asked, turning to look her friend in the eye.

"I'm not saying any of those things. Darien loves children. As for telling him, I think it would be a good thing to be up front about everything I'm just saying that you may not want to tell him right when he picks you up, that's all." Lita replied quickly.

"Well I knew that." Serena rolled her eyes at Lita.

"Just checking. So, you like him, right?" Lita asked.

"Yeah, I do. I'm just hoping he likes me enough to accept her." Serena said as she glanced back to Rini's room.

"I hope so too, Sere. I really do. You want to watch the new NCIS with me? I have it DVR'd" Lita asked as they made their way back to the living room.

"Sure, I don't want tonight to end just yet." Serena said with a smile as she sat down on the sofa, a smile on her face.

"Somehow I knew that." Lita smiled at Serena as she turned the TV on and began her show.

1111

The weekend seemed to pass too quickly for Serena, too soon it was done and she was back to the daily grind at the office, dropping and picking Rini up at the babysitters or daycare, and just living life. Serena had just dropped Rini off at the daycare center and went to work and was not surprised to find a stack of files on her desk that needed to be filed and a list of files that needed to be pulled for the meetings either later that day or the next. Serena put her purse in her desk drawer, put on her headset and sat down to start up her computer and respond to client e-mails that had come in during the weekend.

"Serena, is that you?" A voice asked from behind the office door.

"Yes Mr. Douglass." Serena answered as she turned to the opening door.

"A. how many times do I have to tell you to call me Jake, you've worked here for forever and we've known each other for longer. B. I thought I gave you today off." Jake said from his office door.

"Well, to answer A, I thought you wanted professionalism in the office. Isn't that what you yelled at Raye about on Friday? And B, well, I'll take next Monday off. You have the big Gilmore case tomorrow and I want to make sure everything's set for that. And you left the files on my desk were you here this weekend?" Serena asked as she eyed him and tried to look into his office for the telltale food wrappers that would no doubt be in there.

"It's my firm; I can come in on the weekends if I want. And when I was _talking_ to Raye about professionalism on Friday, it was about….. Other things." Jake answered lamely, "And I'm going to hold you to taking next Monday off. I'm even going to tell Mina about it so that you'll have to stay home. I swear you work too much." Jake muttered the last part as he turned around and went back into his office.

"Ok. I'll have the files pulled for the meetings this afternoon within the next hour. I'll respond to the e-mails and phone calls and set up appointments as needed. Then I'm off to lunch with Amy, Mina and Lita. I'm going to guess Raye is going to meet you for lunch today?" Serena began to rattle off the things that needed to be done.

"Actually, I think she wants to go with you guys to lunch. I'm on my own today." Jake answered from the depths of his office.

"Right; since it's our girls' lunch I'm betting I'll be seeing Max, Zach, and Nathan." Serena laughed as she turned to look into the office to see Jake look away quickly.

"Well, we, uh, since you guys. It's a good thing you're not a lawyer cross examining me!" Jake snapped, "And don't look so smug. We like that you girls are all friends and all, but when you get together we feel left out and we also worry that you're planning to do something evil to us so we're just making battle plans." Jake joked as Serena turned back to log into the e-mail accounts.

"Mm-hmm. I wonder what we're going to talk about at lunch now." Serena teased.

"Oh, probably your new boyfriend." A male voice commented from the door that lead out to the outer hallway of the building.

"I was wondering when you'd show Nate." Jake said from the office.

"What?!" Serena nearly shrieked as the firm partner and her other boss.

"You heard me. Lita called yesterday to tell me all about your date and how you had stars in your eyes all Saturday night." Nate said as he walked past her desk with a smirk on his face.

"Great. I knew there was a reason having Lita move in with me after the break-up was a bad idea." Serena muttered as she typed furiously.

"Ok, we all know that's not true." Nate said as he came to sit on the edge of her desk, "It's good that Lita's there and we all like that. We never wanted you to be alone after the break-up. Especially with a one year old. The postpartum and being alone for the first time in 5 years wouldn't have been a good combination." Nate reminded her.

"I know, I know. I just wish she didn't tell you." Serena grumbled, "And I hate that you're right. We are going to talk about Darien." She added.

"Darien?" Jake asked from his office as he stood from his desk.

"Yeah, Darien Chiba; or rather Endymion Chiba. Though he's not my boyfriend. We've only had one date." Serena pointed out as she read on e-mail.

"Right. Uh, Sere, you didn't meet Raye till after we were married, huh?" Jake asked.

"Well, I knew her though not very well while we were all in college. We might have had a class together. Why?" Serena asked as she looked up from the computer screen.

"Raye's maiden name is Chiba. She's Darien's sister." Jake told her slowly.

"You're having a baby! And you didn't tell me!" Serena said suddenly, remembering that Darien had announced that he was going to be an uncle.

"Ok, that was not what I was expecting you to say." Jake mumbled as he took in Serena's anger, "And I was going to tell you today. Raye just happened to tell me Friday…. After you had left……after we had our talk about professionalism in the office." Jake mumbled the last part.

"From what I believe, you were the one talking and Raye wasn't listening." Nate commented as he winked at Serena.

"Ok, I so don't need to know what goes on in there. And for the record, I'm calling a cleaning place to have the office cleaned." Serena noted as she turned to look at Jake, "What were you expecting me to say?" She then asked Jake.

"I don't know. Why didn't I warn you that was who the girls were setting you up with or something along those lines." Jake said as he ran a hand through his brown hair.

"Well, it seemed you had no clue on who they were setting me up with when you asked to confirm who I had seen and all. Anyways, I happen to know that the girls have kept this pretty close to the chest and really haven't told anyone. Sure they said that they were setting me up, but they never hinted at who they were setting me up with." Serena pointed out, "Now, I believe you guys have a conference call to make and I have some e-mails to respond to and files to pull." Serena said as she shooed them into Jake's office.

"And Nate, I wouldn't touch Jake's desk." Serena smiled as Jake shook his head.

"We didn't do it on the desk!" Jake commented.

"Fine, don't sit on the sofa!" Serena yelled through a crack in the door before she shut it firmly before Jake could comment, but not before she heard Nate laugh.

While Jake and Nate worked in the office, Serena got the peace she needed to get her work done. She responded to the e-mails and did all the filing. Before Serena knew it, it was 11:45 and she needed to take off to get to the hospital in time to make it for Amy's lunch break. Serena opened up the office messenger on her computer to let the guys know that she was leaving. After getting a response letting her know that they received their message, Serena pulled out her purse and locked the computer and filing cabinets and headed for the door. As she opened the office door she nearly ran into two men. Both were well built and about the same height of six foot. One had shoulder length blonde hair while the other kept his blonde hair trimmed near her ears.

"Hey Max, Zach; they're in the Jake's office." Serena smiled at them.

"Thanks have a good lunch." Max, the one with shoulder length hair, said as he held the door for her to leave.

"You, too." Serena said as she walked out, leaving the boys to do their lunch while she went with the girls to her own.

Serena quickly drove from the business district to the hospital where she waved to the nurses' station as she walked to Amy's office.

"When are you bringing the baby by again?" one of the nurses asked as Serena neared Amy's door.

"I don't know. Maybe next Monday. You working then Rita?" Serena asked her.

"I'll be here. You know, you could just bring her to the Arcade. I'm sure Andrew would like to see her too." Rita commented as she reviewed a chart.

"Yeah. I know I haven't been in lately. Maybe next Monday, I have the day off." Serena commented to herself, knowing the girls wouldn't mind going there for their weekly lunch. Especially if Rini were to come.

Serena continued to think about plans for the next week as she knocked on Amy's door.

"Come in." Amy called out as Serena opened the door.

"Hey Sere. I'll be ready to go in a few minutes. Just have to finish writing up the notes for this patient.

"Ok, that's fine. Actually, where's Darien's office?" Serena asked, remembering she would leave him her address for tomorrow.

"Make a left outside my office, two doors down." Amy answered as she typed.

"Really, I thought it would be farther down the hall. Wasn't that where the old Chiefs office was?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, but Darien like's being close to the nurses' station in case he's needed. Unlike many of the older Chiefs and others around, Darien cares more about the patients' rather than policy." Amy answered quickly.

"Hmm. Good to know. I'll be right back; I need to give him something." Serena said as she turned to leave Amy's office.

"Ok. I'll be here." Amy smiled at her as she left.

Serena quickly walked out of Amy's office and turned left, went two doors down and knocked on the office door.

"It's open." Darien called from inside.

Smiling at his slightly annoyed but still welcoming tone Serena pushed open the door and saw Darien sitting behind a desk much like Amy's, though his was covered in files and other papers that held the hospital's logo on it.

Looking up, Darien saw who had entered his office and a smile broke out across his face. Rising from his chair he ignored the mountains of paper on his desk and came to meet Serena half way to said desk.

"Hi." Darien said once they came together.

"Hi." Serena smiled up at him, glad to see that she was able to make him smile when it was obvious that wasn't his emotion right before she had come in.

"Is it lunch time already?" Darien asked.

"Yeah, do you not have a clock in here?" Serena asked as she looked around the office.

"I do, but it's on my desk…. Behind the pile of letters I still have to read and sign." Darien frowned at the pile, "I thought I did that." He then muttered as he looked back at his desk.

"Do you want to come to lunch with us?" Serena offered suddenly, knowing she should have okayed it with the girls first.

"Thank you for the offer, but no. I have to get some of this done." Darien smiled at her, "So, tomorrow night, would you like to stay in or go out?" Darien asked.

"Can you cook?" Serena asked.

"Well, yeah. I do live on my own. I can do my own laundry too." Darien smiled at her.

"Mm-hmm. I'll believe that when I see it. But, to be honest, I would like to go out. I do live with Lita and have a home cooked meal pretty much every day. Not having to do the dishes would be fantastic tomorrow." Serena answered with a shake of her head at his comment.

"Out we will go then." Darien said as he went to his desk to get a pen and paper for her to write her address down for him, "I'll see you tomorrow, then." Darien smiled as Serena handed him the paper back.

"Tomorrow. Try to have a good day." Serena said as she turned to leave Darien to his work.

"I'll try. Have a good lunch and make sure Amy doesn't come back until she's had her full hour lunch." Darien said as Serena left.

"Will do." Serena smiled at him over her shoulder and shut the door behind her and headed back to Amy's office.

"Ready to go?" Amy asked.

"Yup, and I am under orders from Darien to make sure you take a whole hour for lunch." Serena smiled at Amy.

"I knew he would do that. Let's go." Amy sighed as she shook her head.

2222

It didn't take long for Serena and Amy to meet up with Lita, Mina and Raye at Lunar Café only a couple of blocks from the hospital. Once seated at a table and orders taken the girls began to chat as if they hadn't had lunch together in months rather than just a week ago. It had become a regular thing, every Monday they would get together for lunch to talk about their lives since they had all agreed that they had grown apart since their college years. And after Serena's pregnancy and break-up with Danny, everyone knew the relationship she had with the girls kept her going.

"So, how was dinner?" Mina asked, cutting to the chase.

"It was good. We went to Sakura's. Ate, talked, and said good bye. Then I went home and consoled Rini after her bad dream." Serena answered vaguely.

"Oh come on Sere, give us the goods." Raye teased as she took a sip of her soda.

"Well, as it turns out Darien's going to be an uncle." Serena said as she narrowed her eyes on Raye.

"What?" Lita asked as she looked between Raye and Serena.

"I was going to tell you guys…. After we heard about your date with my brother." Raye muttered, "I'm pregnant. Found out Friday morning. I'm, uh, due November/December."

"How did Jake take it?" Amy asked.

"Well, he's excited. He doesn't care if it's a boy or girl because he's so excited to be a father in general. And I know he won't kill them because he's so good with Rini." Raye smiled as she absently rubbed her stomach.

"Congratulations." Mina smiled at her as the rest of the girls patted Raye.

"Since we're on the topic, Sere would you be Godmother? I mean, it's just Jake wants Darien as Godfather and I couldn't decide between all of you and he pointed out that you have Rini and that you know what it's like to have a child and we're going to need your help." Raye began to ramble on.

"I'd love to be Godmother." Serena answered Raye quickly.

"And we understand why you want to choose her." Amy piped in with a kind smile.

"Yeah, that and we're basically already Godmother to Rini, even if it's just Mina on paper. I'm sure we're all going to spoil your little one like we do her." Lita announced, everyone knowing it's true.

"So, back to our original topic; what else happen?" Mina pressed Serena.

"We had dinner and talked. I think he wanted to walk me to his car, but there were reporters waiting for him outside, so we parted in the restaurant. He took off and then I did a few minutes later." Serena explained nonchalantly.

"What else happen Saturday night?" Lita asked, a knowing look on her face as she looked at Serena.

"Well, he wanted me to call him when I got home, to make sure I made it there ok." Serena added as she gave Lita a death glare.

"Of course he would. I mean, he couldn't walk you to your car and that must have been tough for him. He barely lets me leave his apartment alone if it's sunset out." Raye sighed at her brother's protective streak that drove her crazy.

"What else?" Lita kept pressing, ignoring the death glare.

"We're going to have dinner tomorrow night. I'm going to tell him about Rini." Serena answered quickly then held her breath for the reaction.

"Really!?" Mina nearly screamed, bringing the level of her voice down at the last moment to not draw too much attention to them.

"Yes. Do you think it's a good idea to tell him about Rini now? I mean, we've only had one date." Serena asked, though she already knew she would tell him regardless.

"You need to tell him, Sere. He'll understand." Raye said, promise in her voice.

"I really hope so Raye. I'm going on blind faith that he will. I really like him. And though it's been eight months since Danny and I have broken up, I don't think I can handle another break up right now." Serena said softly, showing her friends how much she liked Darien and how scared she really was.

_AN: Hope you liked the new chapter. I'm hoping I can keep updating every few weeks, but it's probably highly unlikely. School has started and most of the reading is already kicking my butt. Also, I've rated this story 'M' for what's going to come up in the next few chapters; I know nothing much has happened yet that makes this 'M', but yeah, better safe than sorry._

_Starrynight2010_


	3. Chapter 3

**Turning a Blind Eye**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

_Chapter Three: Going in Blind_

Serena ran around her house, picking up Rini's favorite toys and books and putting them in a canvas bag.

"Jacket, blanket, toys, books, movies." Serena whispered to herself as she put the bag down next to the front door.

"Sere, you got everything. And it's not like Danny doesn't have some of her things." Lita commented from the kitchen.

"I know. It's kind of silly that I do this every time, but I just like knowing she has everything she needs." Serena said as she triple checked the bag again.

"I know it can't be easy letting your baby go, but you said it yourself, you want Rini to have a relationship with her father." Lita said as she came over to Serena.

"Ok, ok. She'll be fine with Danny. I know she'll be fine with him. He's great with her and he loves her almost as much as I do. I don't know why I'm being so silly." Serena sighed.

"Maybe this is just a way for the nervousness you feel about tonight getting out." Lita offered.

"Probably; Ok, where's Danny? I have to get to work." Serena muttered as a knock sounded at the door and Rini came running from the sofa where she was watching cartoons.

"Daddy!" Rini screamed as Serena opened the door for her ex and moved aside so Rini could jump into his arms.

"Hi baby." Danny said with a smile as he kissed her on the cheek, "Hi Serena." Danny then greeted her as he held their daughter.

"Hi Danny, how have you been?" Serena asked as she turned to pick up Rini's bag.

"Good, works been busy so I haven't had time for much else." Danny said as he took the bag from Serena, "How about you?" he then asked.

"I've been good. Same as you; I'm sure you've heard of Jake and Nate's big case that's going to trial soon so we've been focusing on that. Oh, Rini's teeth are beginning to set." Serena noted suddenly as she saw Rini chew on her finger a little.

"This is going to be fun then." Danny winced a little as he adjusted Rini in his arms.

"It's not too bad. She's been having a few popsicles though to help with the soreness." Serena commented, "Anyways, I have to get to work. I'll see you tonight sweetheart. Be good." Serena said to Rini as she kissed her on the cheek.

"Mommy not coming?" Rini asked.

"No, baby, mommy needs to work, but you'll be hanging with daddy today." Danny answered gently.

"Why?" Rini asked.

"Yeah, she's started that a little too." Lita said from her perch on the back of the sofa.

"Well, Daddy has the day off and I want to spend time with you." Danny answered as he turned to leave.

"Why daddy not here ALL the time?" Rini asked.

Serena and Danny shared a knowing look. They knew this question would come up eventually. They also knew she wouldn't understand now.

"Look! Humming bird!" Rini then shouted as a humming bird flew to some flowers near the front of the house.

Breathing a sigh of relief Serena and Danny looked at each other and knew they would have to figure out what they were going to say to their daughter really soon.

"Ok, let's go babe." Danny said, taking advantage of her distraction to leave and not answer her question.

"Bye, Danny. I'll see you tonight at 9." Serena said as she shut the door behind them.

"You ok?" Lita asked as she stood up.

"Yeah, actually I am. It's getting easier to see him and talk to him. That's really good since we're going to have to figure out what to tell Rini soon about our relationship." Serena said as s frown creased her forehead.

"Well, don't worry too much; she's not going to understand much right now. But yeah, I guess you two do need to talk." Lita agreed, "And with that, I'm off to work. I'll see you tonight." Lita said as she walked to her bedroom to gather her things.

"Yeah, see ya later." Serena responded as she picked up her purse from one of the tables in the living room and headed for the door.

11111

"Are you dating Serena Tsukino?" Max said, suddenly appearing in Darien's office doorway.

"Hello Max. I'm fine, thanks for asking." Darien responded as he looked up from the chart he was reviewing.

"Sorry, Hi Darien; I'm glad you're doing fine. Now, are you dating Serena?" Max asked again.

"I wouldn't call it full on dating yet, but we are seeing each other. Why?" Darien asked, standing up from his desk and stretching.

"How much do you know about her?" Max asked, in a way ignoring and answering Darien's question.

"I hate it when you answer a question with another question; not a lot. Not as much as everyone else does evidently." Darien muttered the last part.

"Has she told you anything about her past?" Max kept the questions going.

"Not really. I know she recently broke up with someone, but that's it. No details what-so-ever on that. Are you asking these questions as a friend or my publicist?" Darien asked wanting to know what was going on.

"A little of both; add in protective brother like qualities and you've got exactly what I'm doing. Serena is Mina's best friend and pretty good friends with me. Her break up was a bad one. I'm not going to tell you anymore then that because she should tell you. But know this, you hurt her and I'll be the last one you should be worried about." Max said seriously.

"I would never hurt her or any other woman intentionally Max. You know that." Darien responded to his friends' threat.

"I know I just had to say it out loud. Also, given your fame, she may need some time to adjust to the press and all of that. You'll also have to be careful to not push her into the limelight." Max commented, his publicist side coming to life.

"Are you telling me she may be bad for my image?" Darien asked, trying to think of what could be in Serena's past to make his one of his best friends say this.

"Not exactly. I just don't know how Serena's going to react to all of this. I know she wouldn't want her name plastered all over tabloids, but…… talk to her if you're going to date her. Make sure she knows what she's signing up for with dating you. And do it soon." Max advised.

"You make it sound like she's falling for me." Darien commented and tried to ignore the flare of happiness that swept through him.

"From what Mina told me about their lunch yesterday, she just might be and none of us want to see her hurt. My main concern is the press though and how they could ruin her." Max sighed.

"What happened? Did someone get a shot of us having dinner the other day?" Darien asked, knowing Max's fears didn't come easily.

"Sort of. Alan and Ann seated you at a good table where you couldn't see her face in the picture. But you could tell she was blond and that the two of you shared dessert. The picture's hitting stands within the hour, so be ready for the mass of reporters…" Max began to say as his cell phone went off; he looked at the caller ID and shook his head.

"I'm not going to comment on who I'm seeing, if it's serious, or anything else really. You can tell them that." Darien said, knowing that it was one of the tabloids calling to get an interview with him.

"I've been telling them that all day. Don't worry; I'll take care of this. Watch your back when you pick her up tonight." Max said as he turned to leave.

"I will thanks. And Max," Darien called after him, "I won't hurt her. I'll tell her everything about me and how I have to live with this cursed fame I have and let her decide to pull the plug or not." Darien said when Max turned back to him.

"Good. I know you're a good guy Darien and I know you'll treat her right." Max said with a smile as he opened his phone and began to deal with the nosy and pushy reports on the other end of the line.

22222

"I'm late!" Serena yelled as she looked at the clock that was on her computer desktop, "Oh god." She then mumbled as she fished her cell phone out of her purse and quickly dialed Darien's number.

"I'm almost there. I'm not standing you up." Darien said when he answered the phone.

"Well, that's good. I don't like being stood up. I'm also guessing you don't either. I'm still at work. I didn't realize what time it was and am running a tad bit late. I'm going to call Lita to let her know you're there and to let you in the house." Serena explained quickly as she shut down her computer.

"Ok. That sounds like a plan. I'm glad you're not standing me up either." Darien laughed a little.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'll be there as soon as I can." Serena smiled, glad he understood.

"No problem. Don't rush, I don't want you to get a ticket or get into an accident." Darien told her a little sternly.

"Yes, sir. Doctors orders?" Serena asked with a laugh.

"If they have to be. I'll see you soon." Darien said a smile evident in his tone.

"Ok, bye." Serena said as she hung up.

"I'm guessing that was Darien. Have a good night Serena." Jake said from the office door behind her.

"Yeah, you too. Leave soon please." Serena said in a motherly tone as she grabbed her purse and left the office, calling Lita as she went.

33333

Darien looked into his rearview mirror again as he turned down Serena's street to make sure that no one was following him. Assured that he wasn't being followed, Darien pulled up to the house and parked his car on the street. Darien got out of the car and headed to the front door, not sure what he expected from Serena's house. But before he could continue to think about what he should expect from her house, the door opened and Lita filled the doorway with a phone up to her ear and smile on her face.

"Yes, Sere, he's here. Ok, drive carefully. Bye." Lita said as she hung up, "Hey, Darien. Come on in. You want something to drink?" Lita then asked as she moved aside to let him into the house.

"No, I'm fine, thanks though. How are you Lita?" Darien asked as he came into the house.

"I'm doing well; just working and living life. How about you?" Lita asked as she sat down on the sofa and motioned for Darien to take a seat too.

"I'm doing alright. The hospital's doing well, but the board is driving me crazy." Darien sighed as he remembered how the board wanted to call an emergency meeting earlier.

"Really? Why is that?" Lita asked, hearing about this for the first time. Normally Amy informed them of any happenings at the hospital.

"Mainly just them sticking their noses into things they don't need to. Because they're board members they feel their entitled to change things that don't need to be changed. That's the short version of what's going on. I guess they're used to a Chief who lets them, so we're butting heads a little." Darien explained.

"I see. Well, good luck with that. Oh, and I have to tell you this. You hurt Serena, and I'll make the board the least of your worries. I know you won't hurt her, but I just had to say it." Lita smiled at him.

"Max has already issued that warning. But I'm glad to see that you all care about her so much. So, have you and Serena lived together a long time?" Darien asked.

"Sort of, I moved in here after her break-up. But I think I'll be moving back in with Nate soon. Serena's doing really well." Lita commented softly.

"Was the break-up that bad?" Darien asked, realizing that it had to be worse then she made it seem during their last date.

"Well, it was a little harder than most break-ups. And we were worried about her for awhile. But, again, she's doing better now and I'm sure she'll talk to you about it later; when she's a little more comfortable with you." Lita assured Darien as she patted his arm.

"Ok. Yeah, Max said something along those lines too. Serena brought up the thought that you two had about opening a restaurant. Is that true?" Darien asked, wanting to keep the conversation up between them.

"She told you that?!" Lita laughed, "Well, it's a thought. I mean, she can't work for Jake for the rest of her life and I would love to be the chef of my own place. But yeah, it was just a thought. Who knows if it'll actually become reality. I know Nate would back us, but I'm not sure we would want to do it now." Lita answered with a shake of her head, "I can't believe she told you."

"I would back you up too, if you were to go through with it." Darien said seriously.

"Thanks and I promise you'll know if we actually go through with it. I think that's Serena." Lita added as a car door slammed outside.

Seconds later, Serena came running into the house, shoes in hand.

"Sorry, sorry. Should I change or is this fine?" Serena asked as she stopped in front of Darien in the living room.

Serena turned to show Darien her dark brown work slacks and her light-blue long-sleeved button top. "I have a brown jacket in my car." Serena added.

"If you want to wear that out, you look great." Darien said honestly, "But I think you should wear your shoes rather than carry them. Who knows what's been on the ground near the restaurant."

"Well, I can't run in these heels." Serena muttered as she put her shoes on the ground to put them back on.

"Ok then. Shall we go?" Darien asked once she had her shoes on.

"Yeah, we should. I'll see you later Lita. Thanks." Serena smiled at her friend as Darien offered her his arm to lead her to his car that waited outside.

"Have fun you two!" Lita called after them as she closed the front door.

"I hope we're not late for our reservations." Serena said as they neared Darien's car.

"I'm sure they're willing to wait for us." Darien smiled at her as he opened her door for her and helped her get into his car.

"Right. I guess money talks, huh?" Serena laughed a little as Darien got behind the wheel.

"Yeah, it does; quite clearly too." Darien remarked with a laugh too as he started the car and headed to where they were eating.

3333

"Ok, now I'm getting scared. I haven't seen a restaurant for a while. Where are we going?" Serena asked as they continued to drive out of the city.

"We're not going to a restaurant. We're eating out." Darien answered with a smile.

"Ok… and that means?" Serena asked.

"How do you feel about a picnic by the lake? It's eating out and since we're using paper plates and such, we don't have to do dishes." Darien asked, knowing that they still had time to turn around if Serena didn't want to do it.

"That sounds wonderful. It's supposed to be a full moon tonight." Serena smiled at him, "That's pretty smooth, doctor; pretty smooth indeed." She then patted him on the arm as she turned to look out the window at the countryside as they drove.

Darien smiled at her. She seemed to always be open to different things. It only took them another ten minutes to get to the lake. Darien parked his car in a spot and opened his door. Running around the car, he helped Serena out then went to the trunk to get the meal he had packed and a blanket for them to sit on.

"Did you make this or buy it?" Serena asked as they opened the basket that Darien had put their meal in after they had set out the blanket on the lakeshore.

"A little of both. The pasta and sauce I made while the salad and bread were bought at the store." Darien explained as he handed her a plate and opened the containers which were still hot.

"It looks amazing and smells great." Serena commented as she served herself and Darien some salad and Darien brought out cups.

"I didn't know if you wanted wine or not, so I brought that and sparkling apple juice." Darien explained as he pulled out two champagne bottles.

"Apple juice please. I'm not really into wine." Serena said with a smile as she moved onto putting the pasta and sauce onto their plates.

"Somehow I knew that." Darien smiled as he put the wine back into the basket and began to open the apple juice.

Darien poured them their drinks then sat down beside Serena as she handed him a plate.

"Darien, this is amazing!" Serena said as she chewed.

"I told you I can cook." Darien laughed as he started eating his own food.

"Ok, I'll give you that one. But the laundry, that's a different story." Serena admitted as she continued to eat and took in the view of the lake and the rising moon.

"Are you ready for dessert?" Darien asked once they had finished their pasta, salad and bread.

"You even made dessert?" Serena asked, wondering if the basket had an invisible tunnel to a super market in there.

"Yeah, I don't think it'll match up to anything Lita makes, but I think it'll do." Darien said as he pulled out a container with opaque sides.

"What did you make?" Serena asked excitement in her voice as she turned to look at the container he held.

"Just chocolate caramel cupcakes." Darien smiled as he eyes widened and she reached for the container like a kid would.

"Ok, you can cook _and_ do laundry." Serena said, though she had no proof of the latter.

"Are you just saying that to get a cupcake?" Darien asked.

"Maybe." Serena smirked at him as he opened the container and held it to her.

Serena took one of the cupcakes and bit into it. A look of bliss crossed her face as she chewed.

"Ok, Lita has nothing on you." Serena said after swallowing the first bite.

"Now you're just saying that. But it doesn't go unnoticed." Darien smiled at her, proud of himself for the whole night going so well.

"I don't want to ruin this." Serena whispered as she took another bite of her cupcake, her smile fading.

"How so?" Darien asked, worried about her sudden change in mood.

"Darien, what are we doing? What are _we_?" Serena asked, setting her half eaten cupcake down on a napkin.

"I'm not sure. I would like us to be something, but before we commit to anything we have to figure out some things." Darien said, knowing where this conversation was going.

"Yeah, we need to talk." Serena agreed with a sigh, knowing that this was going to be a hard conversation.

"Ok. I guess I'll start." Darien said as he took a deep breath and let it out, "As you know I'm pretty famous. The media seems to stalk me every minute of the day and publicize my every move. I'll be honest with you, what they publish can ruin anyone's image and I do believe it has ruined some lives of women I've dated in the past. Also, many women who have been after me for sometime may do anything to make you look bad; whether it's true or not." Darien explained quickly.

"I figured that." Serena muttered when he took another breath before continuing.

"I know you did, you're intelligent and a realist and probably never expected a guy like me to be, well, me. By all rights I should be going after someone who'll make my social levels rise. But I've never cared about my social life. I don't care about being in the spotlight, in fact I don't care about a lot, but the things I do care about I hold dear and close to my heart. I care about you Serena; I know we haven't known each other for very long but I can't explain it. And I'm a doctor." Darien exclaimed at the end with a laugh.

"Yeah, I bet you hate it when you can't explain something." Serena laughed at him a little.

"It's a pet peeve." Darien admitted, "It's really up to you if you want to keep seeing me. I know it's a lot to take in. I guess I should also tell you that someone got a picture of our dinner the other night. You're not in the picture or you can't be recognized, but it's out there. Max has dealt with the press about it already and if we don't see each other again it'll blow over in a day or two." Darien told her quickly, not wanting her to panic.

"Ok, well, it's good that I can't be recognized. And I guess I should tell you some things too before we figure out what we're going to be." Serena said, then took a deep breath like Darien did before he started talking, "As you know I just got out of a relationship. But it wasn't as recent as you think it was. I broke up with my boyfriend, Danny, close to nine months ago." Serena said, putting off the inevitable.

"Ok, why did you break up? Was he abusive?" Darien asked, silently hoping that wasn't it because then he'd have his name in the paper for a different reason then having a new girlfriend.

"No, he wasn't abusive we just didn't work out. But the reason I haven't been dating since then is that, well, Danny and I dated since college. We were together for almost five years. Everyone thought we would eventually get married, but about three years ago." Serena paused and took another breath, "About three years ago I got pregnant." Serena said quickly.

"Did you…. The baby…" Darien tried to find the right way to ask her if the baby survived and if it didn't that was the reason her relationship didn't work.

"The baby survived, Darien. I have a two year old. Her name's Rini and tonight's her night with her father. I don't know very many bachelors who would want to date a woman who has a child." Serena said the last part softly.

"Serena, I…" Darien began to say when Serena's cell phone went off.

"Darien, I'm sorry, I have to get that. It's Danny's ringtone." Serena said as she grabbed her purse and dug out her phone. "Hello? Danny, calm down what's wrong?" Serena said into her phone, getting to her feet and walking around aimlessly.

"Ok, ok. I'll be home as soon as I can." Serena said with a shake of her head and closing her phone, "Darien, I'm so sorry. But I have to go home. Evidently Rini doesn't really like steamed broccoli and will throw up if she is forced to eat it." Serena shook her head again as she helped Darien pick up the blanket and clean up their meal.

"Well, she's two years old. I don't know very many two year olds who'll eat vegetables in general." Darien told her, trying to ease the lines of worry that creased her forehead.

"Yeah, but the fact that she threw up worries me. She looked fine this morning when Danny picked her up." Serena commented.

"I'm sure she's fine Serena. Come on, it'll take us at least a half hour to get back to your place." Darien said as he took the basket from her and led the way back to his car.

4444

Darien drove back to Serena's house in less than twenty minutes, surprised that Serena didn't say anything about him speeding. Instead she did the opposite, she laughed as they flew down the road. Suddenly they were pulling in front of the house.

"Maybe next time we should just take a drive." Darien said with a smile as he turned off his car.

"I'd like that. Darien, I would like to keep seeing you but I have a little girl who I need to look out for. I just. I…." Serena began to say as Danny pulled into her driveway.

Serena turned her head to see Danny get out of his car and begin to pull Rini out of her car seat.

"You probably need to get her." Darien said as began to open his door.

"Yeah, I can get out on my own, Darien." Serena smiled at him, "I had fun tonight and I guess we'll think about things and get back to each other?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, I think that's the best option since we don't have time to really discuss right now." Darien said as Serena opened her door.

"Yeah. Good night Darien." Serena smiled at him again as she got out of his car and met Danny's startled glance; he didn't know people were in the parked car.

"Sere?" Danny asked as she came up to him and Rini's outstretched arms.

"Hey Danny." Serena said as she took Rini from him, "Hi baby." Serena said sweetly as she felt Rini's forehead.

"Sere, who's that?" Danny asked as Darien got out if his car, her purse in his hands.

"He's…. We're seeing each other." Serena told him flatly, figuring that honesty was the best policy.

"Oh, so I take care of our daughter while you go out on the town with a new boy-toy?" Danny asked, his voice becoming harsh.

"Daniel. We're seeing each other. It's not against the law. I don't see what the problem is." Serena said to him, her voice slightly harsh but at a lower level, hoping Darien didn't hear her.

"Damn it Serena. You're a fucking mother! You shouldn't be dating! You should be at home with your child." Danny yelled.

"We're not in the nineteenth century anymore. And don't you use that language in front of _our_ daughter." Serena snarled at him, her protective instinct coming out.

"And _never_ talk to her like that again." Darien added from behind Danny.

"You've got to be kidding me. Endymion Chiba, Serena? Really? You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Danny yelled, making Rini cringe and hide her face in Serena's shoulder.

"Daniel leave. _Now_." Serena said as she stomped her way to the door.

Darien followed her, resisting the urge he felt to beat Danny into a pulp on her driveway. Serena opened the door, which Lita was on the other side of, on her way out to get rid of Danny if needed.

"He's going Lita." Serena said as she stepped aside so Darien could enter the house.

"Good. Hey Dairen." Lita said as she peaked around him to see Danny back out of the driveway.

Serena took a deep breath as she hiked Rini higher on her chest while Darien closed the door.

"He's normally not like that." Serena tried to explain away Danny's actions.

"Don't make excuses for him. No man has the right to say something like that to a woman or use that type of language in front of a child." Darien said anger in his voice.

"Well, looks like I wouldn't have had to come out after all." Lita muttered with a smile; approving Darien's reaction.

"I'm guessing you know how hard it is to hold back from beating that man to a pulp." Darien commented to Lita.

"I sure do. I think I'll go to my room now and let you two talk. Do you want me to take Rini?" Lita asked Serena.

"I don't think she'll let go. Danny scared her a little when he yelled." Serena explained as she looked down at Rini and the hold she had on her jacket lapel.

"Ok. Good night." Lita said with a small smile as she turned down the hallway to her room.

"So…" Serena tried to begin, but couldn't find any words to say. Instead she walked around the sofa and sat down, letting her hold on Rini loosen slightly.

"NO MOMMY!" Rini yelled as she held tighter to Serena's neck.

"It's ok, baby. We're just sitting on the sofa." Serena said soothingly as she rubbed Rini's back.

"Why was daddy mad?" Rini asked her face still in Serena's shoulder.

"He was mad that I was with my friend, Darien. Do you want to say hi to Darien?" Serena asked, giving Darien a pleading look.

"Hi Rini." Darien said in a soft, non-threatening tone.

"Hi." Rini responded, though her response was muffled because her face never left Serena's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, you want to see what he looks like?" Serena asked, hoping Rini's curiosity would loosen the death grip she had around her neck.

Rini's curiosity won out and she peaked over Serena's shoulder to look at Darien.

"Hi there; so your name's Rini?" Darien asked with a smile.

"Mmhmm…. no….. My name is Serenity. Like my mommy. But Auntie Lita and Mina and Amy and Raye and Mommy and Daddy and Granma and Granpa and Uncl Sammy and… and… mommy who else calls me Rini?" Rini asked as she turned to look at her mother, her arms now resting loosely around her neck.

"I think he gets the picture baby." Serena smiled at Rini's list of people.

"I do. So your nickname is Rini." Darien said as he sat down beside Serena and Rini on the sofa.

"Yeah." Rini nodded enthusiastically.

"Ok. How old are you?" Darien asked.

"I'm two and a half." Rini answered proudly.

"Amy taught her numbers." Serena informed Darien.

"Do you spend a lot of time with your aunties?" Darien wanted to keep the conversation going with Rini, hoping to get her to forget her earlier fear.

"Sorta. I see Auntie Lita lots. Auntie Raye and Auntie Amy and Auntie Mina no. Mommy, when can I see Auntie Raye and Auntie Amy and Auntie Mina?" Rini asked, a frown creasing her forehead.

"Soon. I promise." Serena answered with a smile and a quick kiss to her furrowed brow.

"Ok." Rini said happily as she scooted off Serena's lap to sit between Serena and Darien on the sofa.

Darien continued to ask Rini questions until she yawned and Serena suggested they watch a movie. Within 15 minutes, Rini was asleep with her head in Serena's lap.

"I never knew a two and a half year old who talked as much as she does." Darien said softly as he glanced down at the sleeping toddler.

"Well, she has smart aunts who teacher all kinds of things." Serena smiled as she ran her hand over Rini's hair, "I'm going to put her to bed." She then added as she expertly picked Rini up without waking her.

Once she had her settled in her bed, Serena returned to the living room and found Darien looking at the pictures she and Lita had scattered around the room.

"Thank you for tonight, Darien. You were wonderful through it all." Serena gave him a tired smile.

"You're very welcome." Darien returned her smile and came to stand before her.

"So. I don't know where this leaves us now." Serena said honestly, "I mean, to top off having a kid, I evidently also have a jealous ex."

"I have enough news papers following me to create a house out of paper mache." Darien countered.

"That's true." Serena said after a thought at his random allegory.

"Serena, nothing has changed since out dinner at the lake. I still like you and would like to keep seeing you; but if you feel you need more time I understand. Rini's great, by the way." Darien said, letting the decision hers to make.

"I like you too, Dairen; and would like to keep seeing you. But I'll warn you," Serena said with a smile, "It's been awhile since I've dated and I've never dated anyone while I've had a child."

"Well, I've never dated a woman with a child before. It looks like we're both going into this blind, but I'm ready for anything." Darien smiled at her then dipped his head down to kiss her. "What about you?" Darien asked once their lips parted, a slight smirk on his face as he saw Serena's dazed look.

"Not really." Serena whispered as she recovered from his kiss, "but then again, I don't think what we're facing kisses like you. We'll just have to face things one at a time." Serena answered once she was back on the planet.

"That sounds like a good plan. And now I think I should go home. I'll call you tomorrow?" Darien asked.

"Please do." Serena answered as she walked him to the door, "Will you also call me once you get home?" Serena asked, as she opened the door.

"Of course; good night, Serena" Darien said as he leaned into kiss her again.

"Good night, Darien." Serena whispered as he turned to leave. Once he was in his car and had it started, Serena closed and locked the front door. Turning, she walked to her room. A smile on her face the entire time.

_AN:_

_So here's chapter three. Hope you liked it. I'm no longer sure on where this story is going. But I hope to be able to keep it going, I'll have to re-read the chapters and try to find my original thought process for this story and see if that's what I want to continue with or not. Sadly, life is beginning to get in the way of writing, so please bear with me for the next (hopefully, though will probably be longer. Hate mid-terms) few weeks to get another chapter out. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Turning a Blind Eye**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

_Chapter Four_

"So you went to bed late last night. That must've been one hell of a conversation." Lita teased as Serena walked into the kitchen to pour herself some coffee.

"You heard me?" Serena asked, her shocked eyes meeting Litas.

"Yup; the giggles too. So I'm guessing Danny didn't ruin anything between the two of you." Lita continued as she began whipping up Rini's favorite breakfast food, pancakes.

"No, Danny didn't ruin anything. We're going to have a picnic in the park Friday afternoon. He wants to spend some time with Rini." Serena smiled as she raised her mug to her lips.

Lita just smirked at her friend, knowing that she didn't have to say 'I told you so'.

1111111

"Rini, are you sure you want to go with your dad tomorrow?" Lita asked as Serena approached the table with Rini's sippy cup in hand.

"Lita, don't turn Rini against her father." Serena said sternly as she sat down and gave Rini the cup that held the milk that the toddler had requested; at Lita's insistence that milk would be the perfect thing at the moment.

"I just want to make sure. Cause, you know, if she doesn't want to go I can watch her." Lita tried to defend her actions.

"We all could watch her. I mean, it would be an auntie night." Mina tried to back up Lita, not wanting Danny anywhere near Serena, Rini, or anyone else.

Serena looked to Rini, who was currently way to focused on coloring the place mat that Andrew had put before her with crayons to pay attention to what was going on. It was overly obvious when she didn't react to the thought of spending more time with her aunties.

"Guys, he was just upset and caught a little off guard that I was out. That's all. He apologized." Serena reminded them.

"That doesn't excuse his actions Sere." Amy pointed out as she popped a fry in her mouth, "Besides, I don't even get to spend any time with the little one." Amy added on.

"Yeah." Raye added, "I'm beginning to think Rini likes my brother more than me, and that's just not right!"

"Ok, so Darien has kind of won us both over. Who would have thought?" Serena asked as she remembered her two dates with Darien that had happened since the incident with Danny the previous Tuesday.

Darien had met them in the park for a lunch date on Friday and then took them both to dinner and a movie last night; the date last night was a surprise to Serena since it had been planned that it would be just the two of them. Until Rini wouldn't let go of Serena and cried until Darien suggested she come along, knowing Serena would be worried about Rini throughout the date if she left the child at home.

"You know Serena, Rini's refusal to letting you go might have something to do with what's been happening." Mina chimed in.

"That thought has crossed my mind." Serena admitted; evidently Rini was now convinced that any time Serena left her alone at night, something bad would happen. First it was the bad dream and then Danny exploding in front of her.

"Separation anxiety is normal for toddlers; and the fact that you're a single parent doesn't decrease the chances that Rini would have it. In fact it probably makes it a little more common since you're her mother and the one who mainly cares for her." Amy added.

"Yes, yes. I know. And the best way to combat it is to stop giving in to her demands that I stay home or take her with me." Serena waved her hand as she said it.

"Well, there's separation anxiety. And the fact that the last time Rini was with Danny he went batsh... he was very upset." Lita said, stopping her original thought as she glanced down at the toddler who was furiously coloring.

"Serena, I know you don't want to hear this; but, maybe Danny shouldn't be in Rini's life." Raye suggested softly, her hand going protectively to her stomach.

"Raye..." Serena began.

"No, Sere, we talked about this and we all think that he should at least take a break from seeing Rini." Lita countered.

"It really seems that Danny won't be a good influence on Rini." Mina added in.

"I can't just tell him today that he can't take Rini. I have to give him warning. I also think I should discuss this with him." Serena said carefully.

"Of course." Amy responded first, "That was part of the court agreement for custody."

"I forgot about that." Lita sighed.

"We should have done this earlier." Raye muttered.

"Guys, I'm right here. I think tonight will be fine and I'll talk to Danny tomorrow." Serena said, finding a compromise that the girls should find agreeable.

"We weren't planning to compromise." Raye muttered.

"But you're going to have to; Danny and I agreed we'd share custody of Rini and that if there were to be any changes to any of the per-arranged plans we'd give at least 48 hours notice." Serena told them sternly.

"I think his behavior is a justifiable reason as to change the plans." Lita tried arguing.

"But I still had plenty of time to tell him he couldn't have her tomorrow." Serena pointed out, "Besides, I'm sure he's going to be on his best behavior from now on. I kind of reminded him that it was because I agreed to share custody that we have joint custody." Serena added softly.

"You go girl!" Lita whooped, making Rini finally look up from her coloring.

"Mommy, can I has dessert?" Rini asked after a confused moment of trying to figure out what Lita was yelling about.

"Yes, you can _have_ dessert." Serena answered as she looked around for Andrew, surprised he had ventured as far as he had from the table while Rini was around.

To her surprise, Serena found Andrew walking out from behind the counter, a small sundae and shakes on a tray.

"How does he do that?" Serena asked, drawing everyone's attention to Andrew as he walked up.

"I'm just that good." Andrew smiled as he set the milkshakes down in front of the girls and the sundae in front of Rini.

"Tank you!" Rini beamed as she looked down at the sundae before her as if it were made of gold.

"Well, she's certainly your daughter." Andrew laughed as Rini began to dig in.

"Yes, I know. She's beautiful." Serena laughed as she looked at Rini's chocolate covered face.

"Yeah, there's that too." Lita added as she too looked at Rini.

"Aren't you going to, uh, clean that up?" Mina asked as she stirred her milkshake.

"Why bother? It'll only get chocola-fied again; so I'm going to wait until she's done then do a full wipe down." Serena commented as she stirred her own shake.

"She does have a point." Amy confirmed.

"Or she knows from experience." Andrew laughed as Serena scowled at him, "What? I can't forget all the afternoons you spent in here, going through napkins trying to keep your face clean while you wolfed down a sundae."

"Serena would wolf down sundaes and kill trees?" a voice asked from behind Andrew.

"Enny!" Rini yelled, her spoon tipping out of the sundae bowl and spilling melted ice cream on the table.

"Hello munchkin." Darien greeted as Rini stood up on the seat, wanting to be hugged.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Serena warned as she quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped off Rini's face and hands, "Ok, go."

After getting the 'OK' Darien picked Rini up and hugged her, extremely thankful that Serena had given Rini a wipe down when her hands latched on to his collar and she rubbed her face on his chest, he was wearing a light blue shirt and chocolate would have definitely been visible.

"Good save Sere." Lita approved, thinking the same thing Darien had.

"Oh trust me; I've ruined more shirts than I want to admit before I figured that one out." Serena laughed as she scooted over so Darien could sit.

"I can only stay for a minute; just picking up lunch." Darien said as he sat down, Rini still locked onto his shirt.

"If that were the case, Dare, you shouldn't have picked up the little one; she'll never let go." Raye notified him with a smile, "I also can't believe you're letting someone else know you're childhood nickname."

"We'll figure out a way to loosen that death grip." Serena assured him.

"I know; and well, how can you say no to this little one?" Darien commented as Raye nodded, understanding what he meant; no one could deny Rini. "Anyways, how are you?" Darien asked no one in particular as he rubbed Rini's back.

"About the same as yesterday." Serena smiled, "We've been seeing a lot of each other lately."

"And that's a bad thing?" Mina asked.

"Not really." Serena answered, an unwanted blush coloring her cheeks as the girls smiled at her.

"Since you're here now, I should get back to the hospital." Amy excused herself.

"Yeah, the restaurant probably needs me to finalize the dinner specials for tonight." Lita added her excuse.

"I promised to see Jake before I headed off to finish up some errands." Raye began scooting out of the booth.

"I'll go with you; I wanted to see Max today." Mina added.

"That was a lame one." Serena commented.

"It was last second, give me a break." Mina stuck out her tongue.

"Ok, come on, let's leave these two alone. Bye sweetie." Amy began the good-byes to Rini.

"Bye." Rini's response muffled as she turned to look at Amy.

"Bye pumpkin, remember to tell your mom you want to see us more often." Raye said as she patted Rini on the head, "And you, call me tonight."

"I will." Rini smiled up at Raye

"Yes Raye, I'll call you later." Darien smiled over the toddlers pink curls.

"See you later, alligator." Mina smiled as she kissed Rini on the cheek.

"In a aisle cocadial" Rini tried to say.

"Heh, close enough." Mina chuckled.

"See you at home, babe." Lita winked at her as they all headed out of the Arcade.

"Auntie Lita." Rini yelled, making everyone look at her.

"Yeah sweetie?" Lita asked, coming back to her with a frown.

"I wanna 'ave cake." Rini pointed out.

"Cake, huh?" Lita asked as she raised her gaze to Serena who met it with relief then nodded.

"Uh-huh." Rini nodded.

"Maybe we can make the cake together tonight after dinner, how does that sound?" Lita asked then was bombarded as Rini propelled herself off Darien and into Lita's arms.

"YEAH!" Rini enthusiastically screamed.

"Oh yeah, there's definitely some Serena in that little girl." Raye laughed as Lita hugged Rini and put her down so she could climb back up onto Darien's lap.

"Bye guys, thanks for lunch. I'll call you later." Serena called after them as they, as a group, returned to leaving.

"Scared?" Darien asked.

"Yeah, I..." Serena looked down to Rini who was once again on Darien's lap, but was looking at her melting sundae with longing.

"Hang on." Serena said as she reached across the table and moved the sundae to the other side of her, making Rini crawl from Darien's lap, over Serena and settled next to her mother; picking up her forgotten spoon as if she never stopped eating.

"Now that she's fully distracted," Serena sighed, "Yeah, when she yelled for Lita I thought she would answer a question that was asked earlier."

"What question was it?" Darien asked, curious as to what made Serena so nervous.

"Lita asked Rini if she wanted to go with her father tomorrow." Serena answered.

"I see, and did she answer?" Darien followed up.

"No, I came up then and distracted her with her sippy cup." Serena answered.

"I'm guessing she is going with her father tomorrow." Darien said carefully.

"Yes, she is. I know you don't specifically agree with it..." Serena began.

"No, I don't disagree with you. She's your daughter and he is her father. Whatever you have agreed with him about how you're dealing with the situation you're currently in is your decision." Darien slightly interrupted her.

"Thank you, Darien." Serena whispered.

"I don't agree with his actions, but since Rini is going to be with him tomorrow I guess he has modified his actions enough that you believe he can be with his daughter in a safe environment." Darien said carefully.

"He would never hurt her." Serena immediately said.

"I would hope that's the case. But, Serena, I work in a hospital where three times a week I monitor the night shift. I've seen cases come in where no one meant for anyone to get hurt. I don't want to see Rini in my emergency department." Darien told her seriously.

"Darien, don't beat around the bush." Serena said flatly.

"He called you last week to pick up your daughter because she didn't want to eat broccoli. He yelled, cursed, and showed violent tendencies when I appeared; in front of your child. I know you want Rini to have a full life and to know her father; but I honestly can't say that he needs to be in her life or that he is a good influence." Darien answered honestly.

"The girls said something similar." Serena muttered with a sigh, "The thing is, I know Danny and I know how he gets when things change."

"I told you this last week and I'm going to tell you again, don't make excuses for him. Does he have control issues?" Darien asked suddenly.

"I don't know, I've never thought about it, why?" Serena asked, confused about the sudden change in topic.

"Well, could you alone change the terms that he can see Rini?" Darien asked.

"No, it has to be mutual or court ordered." Serena answered.

"And whose idea was it to have it _be_ mutual?" Darien persisted.

"Well, both of ours?" Serena answered though she didn't sound sure of it.

"He talked you into it," Darien answered for her, "He has control issues Serena; those issues are the stepping stones to things much worse. He knows that as long as he gets visitation with Rini he has some control over your life. He doesn't like me because I'm out of his control." Darien told her.

"I appreciate your opinion on the situation, I really do. But regardless of anything he's still Rini's father and he deserves to be a part of her life. However, I will keep your opinion and the information you've given me in the back of my mind tomorrow when Danny comes to pick up Rini." Serena said calmly.

"Thank you, I think that's the most calm anyone has accepted my advice about controlling relationships. Of course I'm normally doing this in the hospital while examining a patient at 3 in the morning." Darien said without thinking.

"I don't know how you can do it." Serena whispered as she laid her hand on top of his on the table.

"What do you mean?" Darien asked, not understanding her.

"Deal with the horrors of life and not be cynical." Serena answered as she glanced next to her to see Rini falling asleep on the seat, her sundae finished.

"I'm not sure how I do it, I know I just do." Darien answered honestly as Andrew appeared next to the booth with a bag in hand, "Thanks Drew. I'll see you tomorrow, Serena." Darien said as he took the bag from Andrew and stood up.

"Darien, I mean what I said. I'm going to keep what you said in the back of my mind when Danny picks her up tomorrow; and if I get the feeling that he's using her for anything I'm going to call my lawyer and the courthouse." Serena said seriously as she put her hand on his arm.

"Good. I really hope I'm wrong about him; Rini deserves to have a good father in her life." Darien smiled down at the sleeping toddler, "I'll see you tomorrow night; and don't hesitate to call me if you need me." He reminded her.

"I won't. Have a good day." Serena smiled up at him, her eyes shining as if stars were hidden in their depths.

Darien leaned down and kissed her, unable to stop himself.

"Tomorrow night" Darien sighed as he straighten, "Can't come soon enough."

"But it'll have to do. Now get out of here, the hospital is probably falling apart without you." Serena teased.

"In my dreams." Darien chuckled as he left the Arcade.

Serena watched Darien leave with a smile then looked down to her sleeping daughter. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Darien and the girls have a point with Danny, and they've hit the problem on the head.

22222

"Jacket, blanket, toys, books, movies…" Serena muttered as she walked around the house, periodically stuffing something in a bag.

"Every week." Lita sighed with a smile from the kitchen table where she was sipping her coffee.

"What?" Serena asked, drawn from her own world.

"I'm just saying that you do this every week." Lita repeated with detail.

"Yeah, I know." Serena muttered.

"Sere, what's up?" Lita asked, now seeing that something was a little off with her friend.

"I'm just.. thinking. I'm thinking about what you guys and Darien told me yesterday." Serena answered.

"O..k…" Lita said slowly, not sure what else to say.

"Well, mainly what Darien told me. I just…. He's right. You guys are right. I need to call my lawyer." Serena sighed as someone knocked at the door.

"Are you going to tell him now?" Lita asked softly and quickly and she got up from the table.

"No, I'll tell him tonight." Serena answered as she walked to the door.

"Sere…" Lita began but stopped herself when Serena opened the door to show Danny on the other side.

"Serena." Danny greeted.

"Danny. Here's her stuff, let me get her from her room." Serena said bluntly and she handed Danny the bag and left him in the entry way.

"Lita, good to see you." Danny said.

"Likewise." Lita answered as she glared at him with her arms folded on her chest.

"Daddy!" Rini yelled in greeting though she didn't leave her mother's side.

"Hey sweetie." Danny smiled down at her.

"Ok, so I'll see you at 8." Serena told Danny.

"Sere…. Yeah, 8:00." Danny muttered as Serena knelt down to Rini.

"Ok, you be good sweetheart and I'll see you tonight." Serena spoke to her daughter.

"Momma, is Darien gonna be here?" Rini asked.

Serena took a quick look at Danny and saw him glare a little.

"Yeah, he'll be here when you get home." Serena answered, "I love you." She added as she hugged and kissed her daughter then turned to her ex.

"Bye, Serena." Danny grumbled.

"Good-bye, Danny." Serena said, though her good-bye held a second meaning and a threat only a mother could issue.

"Lita." Danny said with a nod.

"Bye Danny. Bye pumpkin, you be good." Lita said as Danny took Rini's hand.

"Bye bye!" Rini smiled at Lita then left with her father.

"You ok?" Lita asked as she came up to Serena who still stood in the doorway.

"He knows I'm going to take Rini away from him." Serena said quickly as she grabbed the phone and called her lawyer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Turning a Blind Eye**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

_Chapter Five: Making the World Blind_

"What do you mean he knows? How could he know?" Lita asked, following Serena into the dining room

"He knows something's up. He's uncomfortable with Rini being attached to Darien. He's going to do something." Serena muttered as she pulled out her address book.

"Ok, I don't like the guy, you know that; but don't you think that's a bit much?" Lita asked.

"No. I'm not going to cut him completely out of the custody, just going to limit it. Maybe make it supervised depending on how tonight goes." Serena said, "Regardless I need to talk to my lawyer about it."

"Yeah, you should definitely do that." Lita agreed slightly.

"Lita, I almost married the man. He's manipulative, I just never saw it before; actually, I just never acknowledged it before." Serena said, "I'm going to need you guys with me through this."

"Sere, we'll always be with you. I just don't want to jump to conclusions. You're right, you know Danny better than any of us. I just don't want Rini to be hurt. Or you." Lita said seriously.

"I know. And thank you, for this and everything. But it's time to open my eyes to everything and do the best thing for me and her." Serena said as she began dialing.

"Ok, I have to get to the restaurant. Call me if you need me." Lita said as she hugged Serena.

"I will. Have a good day." Serena smiled at her friend as her lawyers office picked up the phone.

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Serena sat at her desk, going over client files when Jake pokes his head out of his office.

"Sere, you ok?" Jake asked, his tie lose on his neck.

"Yes, Jake, I'm fine. Who told you? Nate, Lita, or do I have to fire my lawyer?" Serena asked, knowing she would never fire her lawyer over this.

"Nate; who found out from Lita. Don't fire Lizzie. Drew would kill you. Anyway, if you need anything, let us know." Jake offered.

"I wouldn't fire Lizzie, but I would have to watch her, don't want her to get disbarred because of me." Serena smiled in spite of the serious conversation, "And thanks, Jake. I'll be fine. Darien's going to help me and of course Lita and the girls. We'll be ok."

"I know. We just want to make sure you know that we're all here for you." Jake reminded.

"I know. And you need to straighten that tie and head out to the conference downtown. Nate should already be there from the Wilson house." Serena said as she held out a client file to him with a post-it note on it with directions.

"Thank you; why don't you close up early? We'll be at the courthouse the rest of the day and the line in here is forwarded to my cell." Jake said as he did as Serena told him and straightened his tie.

"I think I'll actually take you up on that. It's been a long day and I want to relax a bit before meeting with Darien." Serena muttered.

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow." Jake smiled as he went back into his office to get his briefcase while Serena shutdown her computer and activated the call forwarding to their answering service, "After you, my lady." Jake smiled once Serena grabbed her purse, holding the door open for her.

"Thank you, again." Serena smiled and kissed him on the cheek as she walked by.

Jake smiled at her and closed the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket to lock the door behind them.

22222

Serena sat in her bathtub, bubbles up to the top and tried to relax; but the tension just wouldn't leave her shoulders and the feeling of foreboding would leave her mind.

Looking toward the small pile of bath toys that Rini liked to play with in the bath, Serena couldn't help but worry that Danny would somehow get full custody of her and that she'd never see her daughter again.

Sighing at her crazy thought, Serena leaned her head back onto the lip of the tub to stare at the white ceiling.

"You should have put a towel behind your head." A masculine voice said from the bathroom doorway.

Serena looked over to see Darien leaning against the doorjamb casually, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes watching her every movement.

"How did you get in?" Serena asked , remembering she had locked the door behind her.

"Lita met with Amy for lunch and she suggested I make my way over here as soon as I finished my board meeting. She was so adamant for it that she gave me her house key." Darien smiled at her, "Something happen this morning?" He then asked as he walked into the bathroom to stand near the tub.

"Yeah, Danny's going to do something. He knows I'm going to reduce his hours with Rini or take her away. I think he's finally figured out that I'm not under his control anymore so he's going to hurt me anyway he can." Serena sighed as she sat up to pull the stopper from the tub.

"No, lay back." Darien said, stopping her from ending her bath as he grabbed a towel and rolled it up, "Everything will be ok, just relax." Darien told her soothingly as he went to sit on the corner of the tub near where she was laying back and placed the towel behind her neck.

"Darien…" Serena began to protest when he reached out and began massaging her shoulders.

"You were about to say?" Darien chuckled as he kept massaging her shoulders, getting them to relax under his fingers.

"Hmmmmm?" Serena moaned, her eyes already closed in bliss.

"I thought so." Darien smiled.

They stayed like that for about ten minutes, Darien switching from her shoulders to her neck; though near the end Darien's hands began to linger and caress more than massage.

"The water's cooling." Serena murmured quietly.

"We should probably get you out of there then." Darien said softly as he looked around the bathroom for a towel.

"On the shelf behind you," Serena answered as she saw him look around when she sat up to pull the stopper, "Thank you, I needed that." Serena smiled with a sigh and a stretch.

"No problem; though we missed our reservation at the restaurant." Darien said as he held out the towel for her to step into.

"Don't be shy now." Darien smirked at her.

Serena shook her head as she quickly stood up and stepped out of the tub, then stepped on one of Rini's toys and began to fall forward. Darien rushed forward and grabbed her before she could fall completely and wrapped her in his arms.

"I can't lose her Darien." Serena mumbled into his chest.

"You won't; any judge worth their salt will see that you're providing the best environment for her." Darien reassured her.

"I hope your right." Serena whispered as she looked up at him.

"I am. Let's get some clothes on you and figure out what to eat." Darien said with a smile.

"That sounds like a good idea." Serena smiled back at him as she wrapped the towel around her and walked out of the bathroom with Darien behind her.

3333333

Serena sat on her couch dressed in her sweats and a tank top, wrapped in a blanket and hugging a pillow. The remnant of a pizza sat on her coffee table and the smell of cinnamon bread wafting from the kitchen.

"Uh, coffee cups?" Darien asked from the kitchen.

"Upper cupboard to the right of the sink." Serena called back then heard him open a cupboard and the clinking of mugs, "Guess you found them." Serena smiled.

"Yes I did." Darien responded as he came out of the kitchen carrying two mugs and another box from the pizza place.

"Mmmm. Can we do this every date?" Serena asked as he sat down the box on top of the other pizza box and hand her a mug of hot chocolate.

"We could; wouldn't have to dodge the paparazzi." Darien said as he straightened, "I haven't been replaced, have I?" He asked as he gestured to the pillow in her arms.

"Nope, just keeping you place warm." Serena smile as she put the pillow back in its rightful place next to her.

"Good." Darien smiled as he sat next to her with his own mug of hot chocolate and rested his arm on the back of the couch so Serena could cuddle up next to him.

They sat on the couch, eating the 'complimentary' cinnamon bread from the pizza place, sipping their hot chocolate, and watching a movie.

"It's almost 9:00." Serena pointed out as the movie ended and their empty mugs were placed on the coffee table.

"Is that when Rini's supposed to be home?" Darien asked, looking over to meet Serena's gaze.

"Yeah, I was being nice to Danny and let him extend his time with her a couple of hours." Serena muttered.

"You're a wonderful person." Darien told her as he kissed her forehead and moved to get up to take the mugs to the kitchen.

"It can wait, just stay here with me a little while longer." Serena said as she tighten her arms around him and rubbed her face against his chest.

"As you wish." Darien mumbled as he leaned back and held her close.

"They're playing that movie in a theater downtown Thursday; I'm going to take Rini." Serena said with a smile.

"Are you inviting me or stating a fact?" Darien asked.

"I'm inviting you, I'm sure Rini won't mind that you tag along." Serena chuckled.

"I'd be happy to accompany you two ladies to the movies." Darien smiled down at her.

"I'm so glad I have you here tonight. And that the girls set us up on that blind date." Serena whispered.

"I'm glad to be here for you; and I'm pretty sure I'm going to owe the girls so much for the rest of my life for introducing us." Darien responded as he leaned in and kissed her.

Serena smiled against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Like that do you?" Darien whispered as he shifted so that he and Serena could lay on the couch together.

"Mmmhmmm." Serena agreed with a sigh as Darien carefully settled his weight on top of her, though making sure he wasn't crushing her.

"I do too." Darien smiled as he leaned in again to kiss her.

After a few minutes Serena pushed a little on Darien's chest, "I feel like a horny teenager." Serena smiled up at him a little breathless.

"Well, I haven't done this in a long time." Darien replied with a smile.

"The last time I felt this was I ended up with a child." Serena scoffed.

"Yes, but she's an amazing child." Darien laughed as a car door slammed outside the house.

"He's early." Serena sighed as Darien sat up and pulled her up with him.

"Hey, it's a good thing; it means I get to see Rini tonight before she passes out." Darien smiled as a knock sounded on the front door.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. She'll be happy about that." Serena chuckled as she got off the couch and made her way to the door.

Serena opened the door and prepared to have something small run either past her legs or right into them, being preoccupied with her preparation of keeping her balance when her daughter ran to her she was stunned when the camera bulb went off in her face and a reporter shouted her name.


	6. Chapter 6

**Turning a Blind Eye**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

_Chapter Six: The Land of the Blind_

Serena stumbled back in shock and found herself against a warm chest as she heard the door slam.

"What was that?" Serena almost yelled, but held back knowing there were reporters on her front porch.

"Someone gave your address to the paparazzi." Darien muttered as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to call Max.

"Who? The girls wouldn't, the guys wouldn't." Serena frowned.

"I think I know who, but you're not going to like it." Darien said as he waited for Max to pick up.

"Danny?" Serena asked, shocked as her phone began to ring, "Hello?" Serena answered as she received a shrug from Darien at her previous question.

"Danny, what…. No, she needs to come home…. I… How did you know there are paparazzi outside my house?... You didn't….. DANNY!... No…." Serena sighed outraged as she looked at the phone, "He hung up on me. He called them." Serena said softly, still looking down at the phone in her hands.

"Max, Serena's ex called the paparazzi, they're outside." Darien said simply, "Thank you; I'll talk to you later." Darien finished his call then pulled Serena into his arms.

"He's not going to drop Rini off, doesn't want to expose her to this. He did this to make himself the better parent." Serena sobbed as soon as Darien's arm came around her.

"Shh, it'll be ok. Max is an amazing publicist; he'll clear all this up and get them off you." Darien told her, "Do you want to pick up Rini?" Darien asked.

"Yes. But he did have a point; I don't want Rini to be exposed to this." Serena said, looking at the door pointedly.

"Yeah, how about we pick her up and go to my place. There's a reason I live in a gated area." Darien pointed out.

"Ok, that might be best." Serena agreed numbly, "I can't believe he called them." Serena mumbled as she began gathering Rini's favorite toys and blanket.

"He wants to hurt you, to control you and your life in any way he can. With calling the paparazzi, he can have eyes and ears on you at all times; at least until Max works his magic and gets them to disappear." Darien told her soothingly as he followed her through the house.

"He wants to disrupt my life too." Serena muttered, "Wait, should we go to your place? I mean, Danny won't like that and who knows what else he might have up his sleeve, I don't want to drag you into this as well." Serena thought suddenly as she walked into Rini's room to gather some clothing.

"Don't worry about me." Darien told her seriously as he came up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Darien…" Serena began, obviously trying to think of other options.

"I mean it, I want you to come and stay with me. I won't feel comfortable unless I know you and Rini are safe and the best way to ensure your safety is to keep you with me. Danny has no say in where you sleep or live. He doesn't like it, too bad." Darien explained, "I want you with me tonight."

"Ok." Serena smiled at him after a breath and leaned against him for a moment.

"Let's go get that munchkin." Darien smiled as he pushed Serena a little to continue packing.

"Yeah, how are we going to do that with all the reporters? They're bound to follow us." Serena asked.

"The good old switch-a-roo." Darien smiled, "I texted Raye to have her and Jake be ready to meet us at the hospital to exchange cars, you're going to have to wear a hoodie with sunglasses on, but we should be able to pull this off without the police." Darien smiled, "And, I won't actually be with you as the press would be able to tell Jake and I switched cars since we can't wear sunglasses."

"You've done this before?" Serena asked about the well thought out plan.

"No," Darien smiled, "But it should work; hurry and finish packing, we need to meet Raye." Darien said as he turned to leave her to her packing.

"Oh, will you call Lita and let her know there are paparazzi lurking about." Serena said as she put Rini's pj's and a couple changes of clothes in a bag.

"No problem." Darien called from the living room as he picked up the remains of their dinner and took them into the kitchen, reaching for the phone as he passed it by.

Serena came out of the bedrooms a few minutes later with a couple of bags, "I think I have everything." Serena sighed as she looked at the bags.

"Even if you don't we can come back and get it, have someone pick it up, or buy it somewhere." Darien reassured her, "They won't break in or come on the property, they've all probably been arrested for that."

"Yeah, I know. Ok, how are we getting to your car?" Serena asked, remembering he parked on the street.

"Give me the bags and we're going to run for it. Put your hood up and make sure your hair isn't showing. Once we get to the front door and everything is ready to go, put on your sunglasses and we'll be off." Darien explained.

"Ok, let's go get my baby." Serena said as she tucked the last strands of hair into her hood and got her sunglasses ready to be shoved on to her face.

"Let's go then; keep your head down, I'll make sure you get into the car safely." Darien said as he put her arm around her shoulder to guide her.

"I know you will." Serena whispered as she reached for the door knob and opened the door, causing the reporters to gather and begin calling Darien's name.

"Ms. Tsukino! Why all the secrecy?" One reporter shouted.

"Did you meet at the hospital?" Another yelled.

"Keep moving, we'll be there soon." Darien whispered into Serena's ear, his arm tightening around her.

"Are you two going on a vacation?" One reporter asked, seeing the bags in Darien's hands.

After what seemed like a month and going through a forest of people, they made it to Darien's car. Roughly opening the passenger door, Darien blocked the door opening as Serena sat down and pushed the bags to her feet and closing the door. Darien rushed around the car and got in, shutting the reporters and their questions outside the relative quiet of the car.

"Are you ok? Keep your head down till we drive away." Darien instructed as he started the car.

"I'm ok, this is insane." Serena sighed as she buckled her seatbelt, "Why do they want to know so much about you?"

"I have no clue. I'm not any different from any other doctor." Darien said as he began pulling away from the curb slowly, not wanting to hit any of the people surrounding his car.

"You're the Chief of Medicine." Serena reminded with a smile as soon as no one was around the car anymore and Darien hit 30 mph.

"Yeah, I was hoping the hype would die down by now. But I guess having one of the wealthiest bachelors off the market will make the front page of the tabloids." Darien sighed.

"And to think what they'll say if they find out I have a kid." Serena scoffed.

"They won't." Darien swore to her as they headed into the city.

"I know you'll do everything in your power to prevent that." Serena smiled at him as she reached over and took his hand while he drove.

They drove in companionable silence through the dark city; Serena gazed out at the dimmed lights that passed by through her sunglasses, clutching Darien's hand. Without realizing how quickly they drove, Serena was surprised when the pulled into the parking garage of the hospital.

"Ok, Jake's going to drive you to pick up Rini, then drop the two of you off at my house." Darien said quietly as he squeezed her hand after parking next to Jake's car.

"Ok." Serena said, giving him a small smile.

"I'll see you in a little bit." Darien whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

"I can't wait." Serena whispered back as his lips met hers, "Why don't you have some hot chocolate ready for when we get there, Rini would love that." Serena told him.

"I'll make sure it's waiting for you two." Darien said with a nod of his head, happy to see Serena beginning to relax.

Serena smiled at him again and quickly pecked him on the lips before opening her door for Raye who was outside of it but talking to Jake through the driver side window.

Raye turned as Serena got out of the car.

"Hey Sere, how you holding up?" Raye asked as she hugged her friend.

"Ok, I guess. How do you deal with it?" Serena asked as she held on to Raye a little longer than usual.

"I just take it one day at a time. It also helps being married to a lawyer who can sue them." Raye smiled against Serena's hair, "It'll be ok."

"I know, thank you." Serena sighed as she let go of her friend.

"Ok, go get your little one; it's probably a good thing Jake's taking you, cause if it were anyone else we'd beat the crap out of Danny for doing this." Raye basically growled.

"You sound like a mother already." Serena chuckled.

"Aw, thank you, but you know it's true." Raye continued to smile as he hand went instinctively to her lower stomach.

"Yeah, I do. Ok, Jake, let's get going." Serena said as she turned to the open window and Jake started his car, "I'll you at in a little bit." Serena smiled at Darien through the open door.

Darien smiled and waved as Raye got in the car and Serena turned to walk around Jakes car. Before she knew it, they were off; Jake driving in the direction of Danny's apartment and Darien in the opposite direction with Raye. It was no surprise to see Darien being followed by several cars and vans while no one followed them.

"Did that really work?" Serena asked as she looked around the street.

"Yes, Raye wasn't kidding when I threatened to sue." Jake smirked.

"Bravo boss." Serena smiled as she sat back and took a deep breath knowing Jake knew the way to Danny's apartment. It had, after all, been her address when she first started working for him.

Jake easily pulled up in front of the apartment's main entrance, "I'll wait here for five minutes, if you're not out by then I'm coming in after you." Jake said, knowing Serena would want to face her ex on her own.

"Thank you." Serena smiled at him as she got out of the car and checked to make sure they were alone.

"No problem, go get that sweetheart." Jake smiled as Serena shut the door and rushed to the doors of the apartment, punching in the security code to open the door.

Serena rushed up the main staircase of the building, passing the familiar doors and hallways before she came to a dead stop in front of Danny's door, taking a deep breath she knocked.

Danny opened the door and shock lit up his face, "Sere? What are you doing here?" Danny asked.

"I'm here to get Rini." Serena said, almost pushing her way into the apartment.

"I don't want her exposed to those reporters." Danny said softly, his eyes blank.

"Neither do I. We're not going home we're going somewhere safe. Now give me my daughter." Serena growled.

"You're staying with him now? This is all _his_ fault, you know." Danny said.

"No, it's your fault." Serena said clearly, holding back from yelling at him and pushing at the door.

"You come in here I'm calling the police." Danny threatened.

"Go ahead; you don't have the legal right to have Rini for the night. I've already put in for a custody and visitation change." Serena said sternly as she continued to push at the door.

"I'm her father!" Danny yelled.

"You're just a man in her life. A father doesn't try to steal away their children, a father doesn't make their child's mother look bad to win something in court, a father doesn't do what you have done." Serena told him with a final shove at the door that pushed Danny back to reveal his living room.

Serena pushed into the apartment and found Rini sitting on the couch, looking at her parents in the doorway.

"Momma, we go home?" Rini asked.

"Not exactly, we're going to see Darien." Serena said as she came up to the toddler and gathered her in her arms.

"Asshole." Danny muttered.

Serena glared at Danny over the top of Rini's head.

"Good-bye, Daniel." Serena said as she walked past him and out the apartment, not caring that she left Rini's day bag there, she had what she came for and what she'd give up her life for.

111111

"Thank you, Jake." Serena said softly when he parked outside Darien's house.

"No thanks is required; I'll go with Max to make sure the restraining orders are submitted against the reporters, hopefully this will all be settled in a couple of days." Jake responded quietly as he glanced to the backseat to look at the sleeping toddler.

"I can't believe I forgot her car seat." Serena mumbled as she shook her head.

"I can't believe you were able to grab everything you did." Jake scoffed, "And how hard would it have been to get the car seat out of your car and into Darien's? Then the press would definitely know you had a child." Jake pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right." Serena sighed, "How am I going to get it now though?" Serena asked.

"We'll figure something out, let's go inside." Jake suggested as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Yeah." Serena gave a tired sigh as she unbuckle her seatbelt and got out of the car, immediately going to the back car door to retrieve her child.

Rini mumbled a little in her sleep and re-snuggled herself in her mother's arms when Serena picked her up, but didn't fully wake up. Kissing her forehead, Serena turned to follow Jake to the front doors after he closed the car door for her.

Not bothering to knock, Jake pushed the door opened and stood aside to let Serena pass him with her precious cargo, "Living room is straight and to the right." Jake added softly as he closed the door behind them.

Serena followed Jake's directions and found Raye sitting on a sofa, a mug in her hands as she watched the 10 o'clock news.

"Hey." Serena said softly as she sat down next to Raye, still holding onto Rini.

"I thought I heard the door open." Raye said softly as she reached over and smoothed Rini's hair down, "How'd everything go?"

"Daniel was upset." Serena said after a pause.

"So he did call the press." Raye filled in the blank.

"We already knew that. He wasn't going to let me take her, threatened to call the police on me." Serena expanded her original answer.

"A-hole" Raye muttered, censoring herself at the last moment, not caring that Rini was asleep.

"Yeah, I told him I'm changing the custody and after this stunt I'm going to ask for full custody." Serena told Raye, holding Rini a little tighter.

"As you should." Raye smile then looked over Serena's shoulder.

"And I'll back you one hundred percent." Darien said as Serena turned to look at what Raye was looking at.

"Thank you." Serena smiled as Darien approached with a tray of mugs, it was then that Rini opened a sleepy eye then sat up as Darien approached, almost as if she sensed the chocolate in the mugs.

"Endy!" Rini smiled up at his as he set the tray down on the coffee table to he could hug Rini.

"Hi pumpkin." Darien smiled as he scooped her up and kissed the top of her head.

"Endy bring hot coco?" Rini asked as she looked at the mugs on the table.

"Like mother like daughter." Raye laughed as Rini squirmed in Darien's arms to try and grab a mug.

"Hold on sweetie." Serena laughed as Darien sat down and settled Rini on his lap.

"The one on top is the cooler one." Darien said as she reached for the cups, grasping the one he mentioned, Serena checked the temperature with a small sip then held it out for Rini to sip.

Darien chuckled at Serena's testing as he grabbed a mug for himself.

"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just…." Serena began to explain though Darien cut her off.

"It's a mom thing." Darien smiled, "It's ok."

Serena smiled as she took her own mug and sipped it, loving the feeling of the hot cocoa warming her stomach; making her feel safe and secure. At the thought, Serena looked around and finally relaxed. She and Rini were safe here.

"Jake and I are going to take off; we'll talk to you both tomorrow." Raye said softly as she pecked Darien on the cheek and gave Serena a smile.

"Ok, thanks for everything." Darien smiled at his sister.

"Any time." Raye said as she turned her smile on him and quietly left before Rini could even really register she was leaving and get upset.

Serena leaned back against the sofa cushion, relaxing completely and trusting Darien to keep Rini busy.

"I think this is the first time you've sat down since you opened your front door." Darien commented as he tipped Rini's mug so she could have some more lukewarm cocoa.

Serena thought back through the night and realized that he was right, even in the car she was tapping her foot and sitting straight.

"Can I hope that it's because you are relaxed?" Darien asked as he continued to watch Rini.

"Yeah, I am. I feel safe here. I have my daughter and you safely with me; that's all I need right now." Serena sighed as she leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Good." Darien smiled, finally looking away from Rini to her mother.

Serena turned herself so she was curled up next to Darien and still able to sip her hot cocoa while Darien continued to help Rini enjoy her drink as well. Soon after her mug was empty, Rini fussed in Darien's arms, wanting to be next to him, not in his lap; moments after he had set her on the sofa, it became apparent why she wanted down. After Darien had settled her beside him and turned to respond to something Serena had said, Rini was asleep next to him.

"Would you look at that." Darien breathed, "I would have thought all the sugar in the cocoa would keep her up for at least an hour."

"Eh, like Raye said, like mother like daughter." Serena smiled, then yawned and settled into Darien's now empty arms.

They sat like that for a while, Serena just absorbing Darien's body heat and comfort.

"I really appreciate that you're going to be with me for all of this." Serena finally said.

Darien tightened his arms around her a little, "There's nowhere else I'd rather be. I'll help you in any way I can and that you want me to."

"Thank you for that and for opening my eyes to everything. I think everyone has been giving him the benefit of the doubt. I don't know if we'd ever see it clearly if you hadn't pointed it out." Serena admitted as she turned to look him in the eye.

"You would have seen it on your own; as any mother would." Darien argued slightly, "You wanted him in her life because he was her father, there's no fault with that. But know that many children grow up perfectly normal in homes with single mothers or fathers." Darien added.

"I know. I don't know if it would have been better or worse if I decided against having joint custody, but I don't want to dwell on that. It's in the past and done with, I just want to move forward and stop living in the land of the blind." Serena said with finality.

"Me too." Darien agreed with a smile as he pulled her back against him and just held her, feeling content in the moment with Serena in his arms and Rini asleep beside him.


End file.
